2008

vinyl tablecloths make the best…

outdoor decorative pillows. for rainy and snowy seasons you don’t have to worry about the water seeping through. in hot sunny weather you don’t need to fret over it being sun bleached because you get a whole heck of a lot of vinyl in a vinyl table cloth for small money, and you can make […]

out with the christmas, in with the…hearts?

christmas tree down: check christmas decor put away:check christmas aftermath still a frenzy in the kids room: check driving to go see the in laws this weekend to celebrate late christmas with them: check winter decor put up:che….wait i don’t have any “winter” decor…not a fan of snowmen, i like snowflakes but i don’t have […]

now you’ve gone and made me cry…

dear middle of nowhere people, well what can i say. i know some of you have started to read this silly little blog of mine, so i thought i would take the opportunity to say to you all THANK YOU. thank you thank you thank you. never in my wildest dreams did i think possible […]

the official christmas picture

well it was taken in sept. when GI Joe husband was here…look how warm we look. merry christmas. may it be safe, warm and cozy!

sundays suck, and things to come

i hate sundays, it’s the hardest day of the week for me. it’s suppose to be the Lord’s day and a spiritual day. not so much for me, it’s pretty much my own personal hell (yup, it bumped walmart with kids off the list), but i go because i have to, God told me to. […]

our weekend

then i decided to torture myself and the kids by trying to take a picture…these depict happy moments…but don’t be fooled. ps: i’m pretty darn proud of myself this year for letting the tree be decorated by my children. notice the gaps and clumps of ornaments, GI Joe husband knows that’s a big BIG deal. […]

snow snow go away…

please don’t come back another day! i’m laying low this weekend, watching kid movies, staying under a lot of quilts while eating popcorn and reading, and drinking a lot of this stuff due to… all of this stuff… spent most of the week shoveling the white stuff off my walkways…good exercise…yeah that’s what i keep […]

tutorial: bandanna skirt

these skirts fit a 2-3 year old…you can adapt it for older girls by adding layers and extra bandanna’s (maybe i’ll make a tutorial of that later on) first off get yourself a bandana fold in half and press with an iron. next cut in half with some fabric scissors. (took this picture with my […]

aprons and hotpads…

go check them outHERE tell me you wouldn’t look smokin‘ hot in one of these numbers? i walk around all day in mine and i feel like i want to put on some pearls or something. watch out donna reed! i did finish these for the boys’ teachers. my boys have the BEST teachers this […]

a binding we will go…

i’ve been working my fingers off it seems these days binding. binding my quilts that are finished, and binding for other people (.12 cents an inch) not bad money. i love that i get to help people finish their projects, the happiness and gratitude they express is pay enough, but the money is well needed […]

she’s such a “betty”

i think that’s her name. GI joe husband took it upon himself to buy me a sewing machine. yes, you read it right. HE bought ME a sewing machine. GI joe husband loves to research (that’s why he went and got himself a PhD. so he could one day teach at a university and do […]

happy birthday to my middle boy

i can’t believe you are 7! some fun facts about you: *you love star wars everything and anything *you are a hard worker at school and at home *you are much more mature than you 7 years *you are great at reading people and when you see someone who is sad you do things to […]

a winner and a confession

well thanks for playing! yes, here’s to another fun year but with a husband in the picture! so i asked the random integer generator thing a mi-jiggy to get me a random # (uh, no way was i going to pick out the winner and have the rest of you get mad at me!) so […]

one year anniversary giveaway

yup, it was one year ago this coming friday that i finally decided to start a blog. so here you go you freeloaders. didn’t get to win last time i gave this little cute bag away? didn’t know my blog then? well here’s your chance. go ahead use me to get free stuff, it’s okay […]

my holiday season resolution

so it’s not yet that time to make a new years resolution, but i thought this holiday season i was going to make a short term resolution. like a one month-er instead of a 12 month-er…this last year i made the resolution that i was going to stop talking about the things i wanted to […]

before and after:: the fireplace (and a confession)

well you guys guessed it alright! another thing i didn’t love about this house was the fireplace. very 1970’s… also in sort of an awkward place (the kitchen) but that’s where everything happens in our house so i guess it’s in a good place (trying to look at the positive here!) so i painted the […]

tutorial:: pottery barn looking frame ornament

so i’m sure some of you already have the pottery barn ornaments that are silver and are monogrammed…if you are looking to replicate that, look somewhere else cause i don’t have an engraver and i’m cheap remember?! but if you want a cute little knock off of a frame ornament then this is the tutorial […]

christmas decorating and what i’m working on

thanksgiving is over… and it’s full speed ahead christmas now…so this week expect a tutorial on your own pottery barn style ornament, a before and after, and some sewing thrown in there… the three boys have been helping with decorating the sad little fake tree, maybe next year GI joe husband will be a manly […]

moving things around

remember my redo of my buffet? well i’ve been wanting the perfect wreath to put on this mirror…lo and behold i found it. i then hung it up with a strip of fabric and a small nail up on the top of the mirror…i think my look is now FINALLY complete.

’twas the day before thanksgiving…

and there’s Christmas all through the house…my kids think i’m crazy, or maybe just a louse… i’m making pumpkin pies for us to devour…i’ll be baking and putting up christmas lights ’till probably wee morning hours… things i’m grateful for: *freedom to practice whatever religion i please *freedom to walk down the street unafraid *wonderful […]

I’ve been busy…

taken with my NEW CAMERA! it came late last night, so this picture was taken AT NIGHT! holy crap I’m in love. So I haven’t really been posting pictures of projects lately. I was trying to hold off posting anything till the camera got here but it’s here now and I’m trying to get aquainted […]

a sentimental wreath and purging

so some of you remember the sweet little 2 year old that passed away in my community this past august. well her aunt asked me to help fix up a wreath to be on her grave site. i was happy to oblige, and i am happy to know that i could be a little help […]

i’m speechless and that doesn’t happen often

um hmmm well…i’m going to read the books again because 1) i need to like jasper and stop laughing every time i think about him and 2) i need to remember the story and forget the whole thing ever happened on the big screen the way that it did. seriously kind of disappointed…did anyone else […]

momma’s gettin a new camera…

dear GI joe husband, first off i just want to remind you that i am taking care of your children, your house, and your affairs while you’ve been gone for this year…not only that but i’ve been working out…A LOT (who am i kidding that’s not really FOR you, it’s really for me, but for […]

inspirational tutorials

you know i’m all about tutorials and when i find them i bookmark them so that i can attempt to recreate or make something of my own using bits and pieces of information…here are a few that i think are note worthy: *so in love with this skirt tutorial …by whip up *this simple yet […]

something i never had…

going through all my pictures these days without my camera…it’s amazing what a camera can catch… pictures from my archives being an only child really does have it’s perks…really it does…but when i watch my kids especially my two older boys, i quickly forget what those perks are. they play together and bug eachother all […]

tutorial::how to make a nine patch

okay so this nine patch quilt is made of nine squares to make one block and then a plain white block in between. i’m going to show you how to make the nine square block. (sorry about the pictures, they didn’t turn out super great but at least i had pictures!) first cut out strips […]

tutorial in the near future…

flowers from GI joe husband for my birthday (NOT FROM MY ARCHIVES!) so my wonderful friends come to my aid again. lets see, i have a borrowed sewing machine, a borrowed microwave (oh yeah forgot to mention that yet another thing that i use every single day is broken too! lets just hope things come […]

things my kids will probably tell their therapists in 25 years

picture from my archives: oldest son with a butterfly on his shirt in our front yard well so yeah, i’ve been known to try to “fool” my children from time to time…like the time when i picked them up from school and kept driving past our house to two towns over to the local health […]

loss of another great friend.

picture from my archives two things i use every single living day are now officially broken. first my sewing machine, and now MY CAMERA! ah, so she’s off in a box snuggled in bubble wrap to be fixed hopefully. i don’t know how long i will be without a camera…so i don’t know what to […]

if she weren’t so nice, i’d hate her…

okay so camille over at simplify is having a give away…not only is she talented and has her own quilting patterns, she also, along with her mom, has a fabric line at MODA!!! moda people!!! you KNOW how i feel about moda! anywho, she’s talented and nice! and i really really REALLY want this pattern, […]

she just needs binding…

and then my bed will have a new quilt at the end of it…my bedroom is coming along quite nicely. a few more tweeks and i might be willing to show you a before and after. or rather a before and and an “in the process of being an after”. thank you for the well […]

they say it’s my birthday…

so lets have all the pictures be about me shall we? went to the football game… had a hard time figuring out who i was rooting for… BYU? husband’s school, and the cause of all of our student loans…or SDSU? i mean i never went there but i’m from there…felt kind of bad for san […]

before and after::small changes

you know sometimes you just get tired of the same ‘ol same ‘ol. you just want a new look, well you don’t have to go out and buy all new stuff, you could always just look around and move a little thing here and a little thing there…or get rid of something and add some […]

bandanna skirt

made out of one bandanna…and i think it’s so stinkin cute, she’s going to wear it today… and guess who’s wearing underpants? besides me…and the boys…yup the little one decided that yesterday was the day to start the process of potty training! the stats went like this: pee in the potty: 1 pee in her […]

it’s snowing

i have no real picture today, because ALL my projects are in “halfway” status. so i’ll put in one of my boys this morning doing something i love them doing, playing together and having thier best friends live under the same roof. truely i am so greatful that they love to play together. i don’t […]

quilting and voting

that’s all i’m doing today. and i think i’ll stay away from the tv so i don’t hyperventilate all day long. that way at the end of the day it’ll just be like taking off a band aid… quick with a little sting…

what i did and didn’t do

* i DID finish one grandmother’s flower, appliqued it to white back ground fabric and am now working on quilting it…i’m thinking of making it into a pillow or a wall hanging to go in my room (it sort of matches my pinwheel quilt that will go at the end of my bed.) *i DIDN’T […]

my best friend ginger

these are my best friend ginger’s kids. let me tell you a little about my best friend ginger. we met in cali when our GI joe husbands were at the D.L.I.(defense language institute) i used to be able to look out my window and watch my kids walking to her house and vise versa. we […]

great second hand finds

because i live out in the middle of nowhere, i get to go into the “big” town about once a week. we make the trek of 45 minutes and that’s where i do all my shopping for the week, and all the fast food eatin’ for the week, oh yes, and my weekly venture into […]

i found her doing this

the little one was kind of quiet so i knew something was up…i told you she liked to organize. keep in mind NONE of those cans were there because i put them there…that was all her. she’s even got the “verizon bar” thing going! hmm i should probably start looking in the yellow pages for […]

on a painting fix

i made these yesturday for my bedroom…did i mention i’m slowly working on transforming my room? well i am, and i’m loving nature inspired things. i know that’s probably soo 3 years ago, but i’ve had the same look going throughout my house for 10 and a half years. i think it’s time for a […]

my first post at blissfully domestic

check it out here. i had issues with the picture loading up process but on my next post i finally got it…i’ll let you know when it comes out. it’s kind of exciting on this side of the computer…

it may be fall outside, but it feels like spring in here

i ‘m so in love with the whole process of the grandmother’s flower. of course give me a few more hundred of these babies and we’ll see what kind of tune i’ll be singing then. but i love the fact that i can go anywhere and at anytime just start working on it. i want […]

pumpkins, and a nine patch quilt in the works

dear GI joe husband, next year you get to carve the pumpkins because your boys are pansies and couldn’t handle the “gross innards” they then decided that carving them was “too hard” so yeah guess what… i did all 3 of the boys, and i’m pretty sure my hand is going to be cramped into […]

a new day, a new week, a new start…

first things first: thank you for the kind words, prayers, thoughts, understanding, and quotes. your lovely comments and emails were read carefully, i smiled and cried some more. thank you. second: i hope that i do not come across as someone who is not who she is. i have a lot of crappy days, no, […]

really good at faking it..

tutorials

today seemed to be one of the worst days in a long time. i’m pretty good at faking it…that i have it almost all together…most of the time. but you can only take so much sometimes when you just feel like you’re “broken.” i know that’s no way to talk, but yes i feel broken […]

before and after::my buffet

this piece of furniture was GI joe husband’s grandma’s dresser…i wish i had a better picture of the before but i don’t sorry! all you need to know is that the handles were gold and yuck and well i wasn’t diggin‘ the wood. this has been on my to do list for a few years, […]

great finds and a redo teaser

found these lovelies for the little ones wall over her second hand dresser, found at the second hand store for $.50 to $1 each… i’m super excited about it coming all together. this thing is a beast and i want to make it look real good so it’s taking me a few days to do […]

“i’ll watch your kids if you take my pictures.”

…that’s what she said and i laughed in her face and said “oh you’re serious…you know i DON’T know what i’m doing, right?”“…and i don’t have an awesome camera right?” “…and i usually just take pictures of my crazy kids and my quilts right?” she said “i know, but i don’t have money to spend […]

before and after::second hand dresser

remember this tired old gal i got for $30 on my trip in california? yeah the one i threatened my kids that they were going to be strapped up on the roof of the car if i didn’t get to fit it in my trunk? well take a look at her now: with just one […]

the secret to organizing

i absolutely love how i feel when things are organized. that’s what this fall has really been about at my house. slowly but surely i’m trying to get back my organizing skills that i had when we bought our first little house. really, that was the most organized i have ever been it seems. i […]

my thoughts::making a house a home

i truely believe no matter where you live you should make it the best place on earth for your family. that has been my motto since our first place we lived in. we managed apartments, we lived in a tiny little hole of an apartment, we had nothing, that by far was a great place […]

family photos by maggi

while GI joe husband was here i was privileged to meet up with my really great friend maggi. she’s been doing our pictures for about 6 years now. we don’t get to see eachother very often but whenever we get together within minutes we are laughing like we’ve been hanging out every single day…she gets […]

my last pinwheel quilt for a while

this quilt was made out of shang-ri-la moda charm packs (2 of them) i’m super burnt out on pinwheels for the moment, making two big quilts has done it for me…so i’m off to continue my nine patch…but i’ve been sort of side tracked with grandmother’s garden ideas…all of it has to be on hold […]

tutorial:: how to applique

so this is the “oh crap i have company coming over tonight and i need to make something holiday-ish looking” applique tutorial. it’s not my favorite looking applique technique but it gets the job done. maybe some other time i can show you “i’ve got time on my hands cause my husband is watching football […]

organizing and mini me haircut

most of my day was spent between the kids and organzing my fabric. we had a great day of cleaning and playing… i tried to get a good picture of her hair but she kept moving and when she would see the camera she would instantly make a cheesy smile and say “eese” (her version […]

grandmother’s garden quilt inspiration

inspiration brought to you by flicker photos…i have no idea how to make a mosaic of my own but found this one when i hit “search” grandmother’s garden quilts. i think i may give it a go…does anyone have any advise? ps: i promise this the last post from me today…i just could help this […]

Hijacking the blog…again

My Dearest Vanessa, Since we’ve been separated again I have felt an emptiness that can only be explained by being apart from the woman I love so dearly. As a result, I have spent the last couple of weeks frequently thinking back to the first time I saw you. Above all else it was your […]

fall cleaning…

i’m cleaning today. before i can sew and start back up on all pending projects this needs to be taken care of… especially when one of your good friend’s house ALWAYS looks like this, you kind of get inspired the friend that everyone thinks we’re related because we kind of look alike and i hung […]

well looky where i was featured!

ah! you can see my dresses made out of sheets and my tea towel tutorial at the Sew Mama Sew BLOG! it’s under “create and celebrate” october 8th post check it out!

meet “barbara”, the loan-er

so GI joe husband and i had a conversation the other night and it went a *little* like this: (i MAY have taken some liberty in my creative writing. and he MAY not of said EXACTLY what i’ve written) GI joe husband: hey so i read the blog cause i am totally into reading your […]

fall has arrived and thrown up in my house

i’m not a big time decorator of the holidays, for some reason the changing of things every few months bugs me. (it’s a personal thing) but i have to admit, fall and christmas are the ones i do decorate for. other than that it’s pretty much same ol‘ same ol‘ at my house. here are […]

and then there were…a lot of them

dear GI Joe husband, i just wanted to give you a visual because i’m pretty sure you would want to see it with your own eyes…YEAH it started with ONE and now we have 1, 2…A LOT. maybe this is his year to finally get back the nate we used to know? it brings a […]

a few firsts

well yesterday was my first official day working at the local store where i will slowly be putting in furniture and handmade gifts. it’s been a long time since i’ve actually been somewhere other than my home to “work” 9 years to be exact. but it’s nothing like a normal job, i work while three […]

tutorial::how to make a country rustic sign

this tutorial is so darn easy you could do it in your sleep, but here you go, the steps to making your own: 1. get yourself a board, old weathered ones are the best and when you live out in the middle of nowhere that’s been around for a century and a half, trust me […]

you ask how he’s doing::look for yourself

last school year was well in a nut shell was …hell… this year i’ve been skeptical so i haven’t written anything as of yet, but it’s been well over a month going onto two months and well, i’m so happy to report, yeah he’s doing GREAT! oh he still does his fun stuff like stuff […]

sooo i got bored…

now that the boys are in school full time the two younger ones and i walk around aimlessly not knowing what to do…and my sewing machine sort of quit on me (I KNOW!) so i’m going to borrow someones to complete my quilt but after that i’m sort of out of luck till i fix […]

fall decor::using nature

so i love fall, it’s my favorite season, i love everything about pumpkins and i love the colors. there’s only one thing i hate about it…when its done we get winter. but lets focus on fall… i was walking in our back yard and started to pick up the rotting apples on the ground and […]

starting to make lemonade out of lemons

so i forced myself out of bed yesterday and forced myself to do something other than what i’ve been doing for the last few days and that is let the big huge elephant that sits on my head and chest get the better of me. did not get much done except keep the house from […]

happy birthday little one

dear sweet little katherine, when we found out you were a girl, the boys all high fived and cheered. i smiled, and secretly started to make quilts, dress you up and started picturing your room in my head. we’ve all been waiting for so long to hear the words “it’s a girl” (especially your oldest […]

the start of my photowall

i’ve been wanting to do this for over a year. my best friend ginger had a full wall dedicated to pictures and since then i’ve always have wanted to do it, well this is the start of my photo wall located in my hall way. the idea is that i will just keep adding as […]

back to basics:: the magazine

first off thank you guys for the past two weeks of encouraging words and kindness. i went back yesterday to the last two weeks posts…and those words were much needed. i had a really bad day yesterday, i’ll spare too many details but this time around the next day after dropping him off at the […]

our last 24 hours together…

you were right this time his leaving is harder than the first time. he leaves tomorrow morning… early morning. i’m dreading the 3 hour drive home from the airport becuase i’ll have all that time to just sit and think, i’m dreading getting used to not having around again, i’m dreading every night not watching […]

my before and after::the kitchen

can i just tell you that i cried when i saw that this was the only option for me when we were looking to move into this town? we were looking to buy when there were no other houses on the market and this was it…you’ve seen the living room , the bedrooms here and […]

GI joe husband does good work

i’m finally able to put some of my dishes back in the cabinets, we’re working on the doors today. i asked him why he was doing this while on his leave and his answer was “cause i know it would make you happy.” yes it does, but not for the same reasons he thinks. he […]

pj’s made by me

oh oh people i don’t have enough to make all those that want them, i will figure out how many i can make out of these particular sheets, and then i will also show you guys some other sheets if you are still interested in purchasing the pj’s made out of other sheets! thank you […]

park city:: part deux

i was pretty lame and didn’t take hardly any pictures. but we had a blast, i think we just started a tradition…

since you been home…

there’s a few things i’ve noticed since you’ve been home. *i missed you more than i thought i did. *the kids REALLY love having you around and want your attention at all times. *we do much more fun things when you are around (like bbq’s and smores) *i’ve missed you *katie absolutely loves her daddy. […]

park city

last night we got to check into our “home for a few days” um… i wish i could call it my home, it was ginormous (it’s one of those timeshare thingys that my in laws have). we can’t use it till wednesday because of the small little thing we call “kids being in school” but […]

harvesting and interviews…

today we are picking apples from our apple trees and we’ve already gone to home depot for my NEW COUNTER TOPS which GI Joe is currently working on… gosh i miss him…and i love having him around…the kids love it too…well katie’s verdict is still out but she’s slowly warming up to the man she […]

kindness…

a wonderful friend from wisconsin was kind enough to share part of her wonderful second hand find, this gorgeous quilt block with pieces to fix the “much loved” areas. i got it in the mail yesterday. i’m planning on fixing, framing, and putting it in katie’s room, thank you so much for your kindness! and […]

tutorial:: how to make a pinwheel

so it’s quilt month over at mr monkeysuit and i decided to join the fun. for my little tidbit i’ve decided to make a tutorial on how to make a pinwheel, so you too can make a quilt like my little katie’s first you need four squares two of a color and two of white […]

a thank you and a winner

my house did get decorated for the fall, but thats about all i did… well i just want to thank you all for the so very nice comments and well wishes! THANK YOU!yes we’re pretty excited to say the least. it’s been too long you know? anyways here’s your winner i used that random.org thing […]

giveaway

my husband is coming in less than 10 days for his 2 week leave so i’m feeling *HAPPY* and i’m taking a week off of blogging to clean, and create before my hubby comes back so i thought i would leave you all with a little giveaway. so leave a comment and win this cute […]

new dress made by me

made out of vintage sheets… i’m trying to decide if the little one “needs” yet another dress or if i need the money more…so i think i’m going to put it in the shop either the etsy one or the one here in town i don’t know just yet. but making this made me feel […]

fall quilt top and amy butler patterns

i finished the fall quilt top and i have some left over fabric… sooooo i’m making a fall banner like my freedom banner…kind of excited! and remember my skirt made out of sheets? well this time i’m making the A-line skirt out of a clearance drapery for a window, it cost me $5 (i know […]

Um excuse me, your cow is dead.

So instead of me trying to explain the situation I’ll just give you an idea on how the conversation went between me (the INNOCENT one who just thought the cow was “sleeping”) and the owner of the cow: Ring ring…ring ring… Owner: hello? Me: uh, yeah, er..uh hmm, er this is Vanessa. Owner: oh hi […]

it’s hard losing your best friends…

for 8 hours out of the day this poor little guy walks around aimlessly missing his best friends in the whole world, his two older brothers…oh sure he has katie and me, but we are no substitute for the the boys…he begs to go to school, and he asks constantly if it’s time to pick […]

second hand find and some lampshade lovin’

so my fabulous friend who just so happens to be a professional quilter was in the town 45 minutes away and she gave me a call from the second hand store “i have a table here for behind the sofa you want it?” “is it wood and can i paint it?” i ask “yes” she […]

simplicity 5695

so i don’t speak pattern… this was a little harder for me to “get” but it’s done. a little too big for the little one this year but i think that for next summer it should be just about right.i hate to use “real” fabric just in case i totally mess up so this was […]

the difference between one and two

is night and day. the 6 year old (in blue) got up and was ready to go in a nano second and was getting his tooth brush ready with toothpaste as he gently reminded me that he still needed to eat breakfast and he didn’t want to be late. oh yeah and he picked out […]

chasing cows in flipflops and felt strawberries…

uh yeah the boys “accidently” let the cows out, but not just into our backyard….no not even into our front yard…when the boys finally came to tell me what they had done (i haven’t seen them this scared to tell me ANYTHING in their lives) the cows were grazing down the street and were on […]

some clarification…

so here are some of the specifics (which i’m still working out): **the store that i’m going to be paying rent in is already up and running as a scrapbook and consignment shop, but she doesn’t want to do consignment anymore and has expressed that she needs help with decorating it and keeping set hours… […]

what have i done

oh i think i’m going to throw up…but here i am telling all of you that i’ve done it…i’m going to do a second hand store here out in the middle of nowhere…i’ve been thinking about it for months, no, years…but it’s actually going to become a reality starting next month. i’m paying rent and […]