~ More Little Things...~

It's the little things in life that often bring the most joy...like this burst of sunshine in my yard that is nearly open!  Guess who planted this?  The birds.  It's right beside my birdfeeder.  :)

This sweet perennial was here when we bought the house.  I LOVE orange flowers.  So cheery.  I found out today it is called a Butterfly Flower.  I like that.

My first hollyhocks.  Ever.  These are miniature ones.  So sweet.  Ordered from the Michigan Bulb Co.

Buttercrunch lettuce making my garden look yummy and lush.

I planted zinnias by seed.  They had a hard time getting started, but now the first blooms are opening.  Zinnias are the Indiana State Flower...but I've loved them since I was a child.  Aren't the stars in the center cool?  God is such an amazing Creator.

This little thing makes me happy!  My very first business cards!  In green.  I love them.

And it's a happy little thing to send off an etsy order to a girl in Oceanside, CA...wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string...yep, one of my favorite things. ;)

I love this amazing little thing...I could just kiss the person who decided that an ac vent should go right here by the stove where I stand and cook.  Ahhhh.

This was a sad little thing today...my favorite china tidbit tray got broken, but I had to remind myself that this was a 'little' sad thing.  And I'm glad for that little thing called E-6000 glue.  It solves alot of problems!

Right now I am greatly enjoying another little treat...time alone.  Rare, so a treat!

Enjoy your day!

Donna  

Linked to:
Tip Junkie 
Don't Waste Your Homemaking 
My Romantic Home 

A Lovely New Chapter Ahead

My husband and I have entered a lovely new chapter in our lives...our daughter is expecting our first grandchild!  I think I was born to be a mama and a Mimi...so I am excited and ready!  That's me with a future granddaughter up there above...hee hee!

Our first born, Lindsey Brooke, is our only daughter, and therefore is the family princess.  Now she will be giving birth to her own little Prince or Princess.  She's 10 weeks, and due in mid-January.

I'm taking my Mimi job seriously. ;) Bargain shopping for things for our grandbaby...to have at his/her house or to have at Papa and Mimi's house.  Just wait til we find out if it's going to be a Prince or a Princess!  Then my sewing machine will start humming too!

Congratulations Rich and Lindsey!  You will be excellent parents and will love this new journey that will last the rest of your lives.  Children are a blessing from the LORD.

Blessings,

Mimi Donna

Felt Flowers Headband

Can you tell it's only my 2nd week of summer break at home?  I homeschool the rest of the year, and don't have alot of time for crafting.  Now that summer is here, I find myself making something every day!  Bear with me.  :)  I wear alot of these store-bought kinds of headbands, and have been wishing to dress them up for weeks.  My niece Kara of Sweet Baby Cakies had recently made some melted felt flowers and told me how to do it.  That's exactly what I had wanted to do with my headbands, so today it was on my schedule of things to do.

I used my circle punches to make 2 paper patterns...one smaller and one larger.  Then using white felt I cut out three of each size.  Perfection not required as you will see.

I then lit a candle to use as the flame that would gently melt the sides of my felt circles, and had a bowl of water nearby for dousing any accidental flames!  Didn't need it, thankfully.

I held the felt circles near to the flame.  Sometimes beside the flame and sometimes above the flame, aiming the edges of the circle toward the flame.  It was really cool to watch how the felt would shrink away from the flame as it slightly melted and circled on the edge.  My fingers got alittle hot when I'd have to turn the circle and hold the already-melted edge, so I used tweezers to hold the felt at times.  Just gently go around the whole thing until it has melted and curled a bit.  Try not to scorch it but if you do just a little bit, snip that part off.

Can you see the right side has alittle bit of a hard edge to it?  It's been melted.  The sides with fuzz still on them have not.

The edges do not melt in a perfectly uniform way, so that's why a perfectly cut circle is not needed at the outstart.

All six felt circles have been melted to the size and shape I want.

Whenever possible, I like to make-do with whatever supplies I have on hand.  These vintage beads were purchased in a lot at a garage sale for $1.50, so I just hoped there would be beads in here that would be the right color.  Notice that the beads were the craft supply that I finally decided to put into my new milk jug caddy...read about it HERE.

Bingo!!  I was thankful to find a necklace among the bunch with the perfect color periwinkle blue beads!  Thank you Jesus!

Now to sew them together.  I sewed the bead to the double layer of felt circles, being sure to keep my stitches hidden under the top circle.  Used a double white thread and a craft needle to do this step first.  THEN I sewed the flowers to the headband.

I overlapped the felt flowers a bit as I sewed them to the headband, taking care to hide my stitching as much as possible.

Finis!!  Son Tanner again was my photographer, so hopefully you can see the finished product ok.

In love.  Smitten.  Like alot.

Blessings,

Donna 

Linked To:
Somewhat Simple 
Home Sweet Home 
My Repurposed Life 

Favorite New Summer Sandwich

Several years ago I tore this recipe out of a BHG magazine, thinking it looked good to try.  Yesterday was the day! 

I boiled and peeled some eggs, microwave cooked some bacon, thin sliced an English cucumber, and washed some fresh lettuce leaves from our garden.  Sandwich fixin's are ready.  Mmmmm.

Walmart has some really tasty French Bread for 98 cents everyday in their bakery.  I'm buying it these days instead of turning on the oven for baking my own.  Cut two thick slices, buttered them a bit, then toasted them.  They can also be grilled on the stove.

Layer the eggs on the bottom slice, then salt and pepper to taste.  Next came the bacon slices, lettuce leaves, and cucumber slices.  Top with some light mayo or mustard if you prefer.  I did not add the basil leaves the recipe called for.

Incredible!  Filling.  Tasty.  Different.  Summery.  A Hit!  And nice enough to serve friends for a casual supper or lunch.

Enjoy!!

Blessings,

Donna 

Crocheted Headband...In Under One Hour!

  This morning I came across a cute, cute, cute tutorial for a crocheted headband...now I don't know how to crochet, but this was worth learning for!  The credit all goes to Lolli of Better in Bulk who posted this amazing craft.  Please visit her blog HERE.  And the tutorial for this is HERE.

My parents were coming over for lunch today, so I asked my mom if she'd teach me how to crochet this little beauty.  Mom brought yarn and a bajillion crochet hooks (which I kept accidently calling needles!)  With Lolli's  great instructions, we were off and crocheting!

Isn't it so so so cute?!  And it took us about 45 minutes.  I think that if you know what you are doing, you could do this in 30 minutes or less.  It was really fun!  You add a button to the center, so I found this silver bead that was just right for me.

This is how silly I look trying to photograph myself in the mirror and get the headband in at the right angle.

Kookier still!!

Thirteen year old son to the rescue!  Even though he thought it was nutty to try to take a picture of his mom's new headband he did a fabulous job.  And see...it even matches my shirt today!

I am smitten!  And I will be making more!  And more...til I am good at it and quick at it.  What wonderful gifts these would make.  If you crochet, give it a try.  If you don't, find a lovely lady to teach you.

Enjoy!!

Blessings,

Donna
Linkie parties: 
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My Romantic Home

It's The Little Things....

It's really the little things in life that make me excited!  Such as these sweet, old-fashioned cannisters on my counter, that have been sitting 'naked' for months while I longed to label them in some cute way.

Today they got labeled!  With "courier" font...my vintage fave right now.  And with green polka dot paper.  I just printed the labels, glued them to the paper, cut them apart, and used clear packing tape to attach them.

This sweet old jar came to me as a gift, bearing homemade granola.  Too cute to put in a cupboard, it become my baking soda jar.  So handy when baking.

This was a spice holder that got used up...now it also holds baking soda and is sooo handy for using as a mild abrasive on dishes or the counter top.  The shake top under the lid is the key.

More little things...my herb garden grew more than the weeds while we were gone last week to a lake house family gathering.  The smells of basil, dill, cilantro, and sage just make me want to eat fresh!  Can't help but walk by and rub a few leaves with my fingers so I can smell those heady aromas.

This little thing is a new Rosemary plant...on clearance for $1 at Walmart.  Yay!

My cinder block gardening is going great.  Asters came up by seed as well as African Daisies, Morning Glories, and the Gladioli bulbs are 18 inches tall.

The square foot garden is also producing well. Picked enough romaine lettuce to make salad for the neighborhood!

Our first baby zucchini!  I'm a happy Mama.

My kitchen calendar page for June is a cottage by a lake...another fun little thing!  We just spent 4 days at an amazing lake house with the whole Hayden clan in the month of June.

I don't have a clothes line, but I can take my drying rack out into the sun.  A happy 'little thing'.

And lastly, another sweet little thing...journals make me feel obligated to write too much, but this little Mary Englebreit daily planner gives me just a few lines to record the highlights of each day.  I love having these little journals to look back at from the past 7 years.

What little things are bringing fun, love, joy, happiness, and sunshine to your days?  Did you see the quote at the top of my journal page for May 9-15?  I love it.

"Life isn't a matter of milestones but of moments."

Blessings,

Donna 
Linkie Parties:
Made By You Mondays 
Don't Waste Your Homemaking 
Tip Junkie 
My Romantic Home 
Home Sweet Home