Pinned and Done- Burlap Cross

I just have to say, "I love pinterest!!!" I mean who doesn't? My only complaint is that it is a major time suck.   I am always finding something new to pin.  Do you have this same problem? For years I would tear things out of magazines and put them in binders or I would bookmark website after website so that I could remember all the things I wanted to cook, craft, sew and garden. And then some awesome person had the bright idea of creating a site in which you could "pin" all of it in one place. In my book that is just awesome.  Though the problem now is that I have so many things "pinned" that I am wanting to make that I can't keep up with it all. But I have completed a few of the things I have pinned. Today I am going to share a burlap cross that I made from a picture I saw on Pinterest.  There were no links for a tutorial but it is also pretty self-explanatory as well.  But here it goes...

 

 I made a template of the cross and cut it out, twice.

 Sew the two layers together, leaving a 1 to 2 inch opening to allow for stuffing your cross.

 I painted the front with polka dots, outlined the cross and then painted on my "C".  You can do whatever designs you would like to have on yours or none at all.

  Stuff your cross.  Since I was hanging this on my front door I used plastic grocery bags as the stuffing.     I had extra bags lying around and it was a great way to reuse something I had on hand.  To hang it I took some wire and poked it through the fabric and twisted the ends into a little curly Q.  Then I added a gray burlap bow to dress it up a little more.  And there you have your cross made out of burlap.

If you don't own a sewing machine, you can still make this.  You can hand sew it, staple the layers together, or even hot glue or fabric glue the layers together.   Good luck!

Fairy Gardens

It is Fall Break for us this week. For the first part we stayed home but since my mother's birthday is today we went to Signal Mountain for a visit. I love coming home for so many reasons, and family is the most obvious. But today I realized as I was driving onto Signal Mountain that it is also because I miss the mountain with it's abundance of trees, wildlife and it's beauty. I caught myself staring through the trees and watching the sun's rays as they lit up the many shades of greens, browns and the beginnings of fall colors. It's something we don't get to enjoy at home where we have no woods near our house to enjoy.

And with fall coming the Signal Mountain Nursery, which my parents own with my sister and her husband helping out, is also ablaze with color. The mums are is full bloom as well as the pansies with their multitude of colors. Seeing all the mums and pansies lined up waiting for someone to take them home to decorate their front porch, deck or home is exciting to me. I always struggle to pick out my own favorites to take home and enjoy. But the other thing that caught my eye on this trip are the fairy gardens that my sister has created. As you may know fairy gardens are big right now. They are an abundance of people, furniture, houses, and other accessories to place in your fairy garden. My sister has also done several workshops at the nursery for everyone who wants to make their own fairy garden. The girls and I made one this summer but I can't wait to do another one this time with a Halloween theme. When I was at Market in Atlanta this summer helping my mother and sister pick things out for the nursery we came across not only the Halloween fairy gardens but Christmas and beach gardens as well. With so many options to choose from I might have to change them out several times a year!!

How creative is this and an awesome job of recycling too!?!  Using an old wheel barrow to contain your fairy garden.   The next two pictures are some close ups of the wheel barrow garden.

This one is my dream fairy garden.  This is a container made out of 2X4's and ply wood to make a large rectangle.  My dream is to make one of these with legs to use as a coffee table for my deck.  Add a few large "stepping stones" to hold drinks and you've got one awesome and unique fairy garden coffee table.

These are a couple of awesome examples of the Halloween or Fall fairy gardens.  I love the tiny headstones and skeleton in the graveyard.  The little pumpkin house is neat too.  And don't you think that your fairy will enjoy having their homes decorated for the holidays just like you?

Just look at all those fall mums and all that color.  I love mums!

 And if you know me you know how much I love owls.  And with that in mind I couldn't pass up this little guy who looks so cute in this little 4" mum.  

I can't wait to get back home with all my goodies to decorate the house with for Halloween and fall as well.  

 

G is a Blue Belt Now

On Saturday Gabe tested for his 4th belt, the blue belt, in karate. He was so excited to be moving up the ranks. He was the only one testing for the blue belt so he was more alone than usual, his wrk this summer paid off. He will have to get use to testing in smaller group since it gets harder and harder as you move up and takes a little longer. He did really well despite the fact that he didn't sleep well the night before from either excitement or nerves. But he made it and is now a belt and start working on his next Kata.

 During testing

Gabe with his new blue belt and the whole testing group.  

 Because Gabe worked so hard this summer and we made it to a minimum of two classes a week or made up class he was able to attend a pizza party given by the karate school as well. They had a whole lot of fun playing games and eating a little pizza as well.

 

First Day of School

I don't know about you but SUMMER went by way too fast.  It's seems like it gets shorter every, single year.  We have so many things we want to do and accomplish and then BAM!!! it's the first day of school once again.  Gabe and Abby started school on Friday and were excited to be going.  I think they have changed their minds a little as they remember that it's not all about friends and about work too but there hasn't been too much complaining, though they have already started asking me when Fall Break is going to be!  I am sure that the school year will seem to fly by at moments too, especially for me as I try to hold onto my babies just a little longer.  Elizabeth will be starting Kindergarten in another week and so that will be the last of my babies at home.  But the first day is always the best just because it is exciting and something new.

So here's to a great school year for all the kids out there!!