Friday, April 27, 2018

Clutter Busting Challenge April 2018

I'm purging 14 items this month.


My Purge Pile:





Wednesday, April 25, 2018

April 2018 Reading List

















The Blue Ribbon Brides Collection
Requilted with Love by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Seven Medals and a Bride by Angela Breidenbach
A Taste of Honey by Darlene Franklin
Altered Hearts by Gina Welborn
Better with Butter by Jennifer AILee
Driven to Distraction by Becca Whitham
First Comes Pie by Niki Turner
Front Paige Love by Amber Stockton
Competing Hearts by Cynthia Hickey

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Zucchini and Carrot Coleslaw



 












2 cups shredded zucchini 
1 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup low-fat creamy salad dressing (such as Miracle Whip Light)
1 teaspoon white sugar
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Place zucchini in a colander and let drain thoroughly, about 30 minutes. Toss with carrot in a large salad bowl; stir in creamy salad dressing and sugar. Chill the coleslaw for 1 hour to blend flavors, stir again, and season with salt and black pepper.



Saturday, April 21, 2018

Outdoor Yard Overhaul

It's that time of year to do an Outdoor Overhaul on my yard. I don't usually start working on my yard until Mother's Day weekend but wanted to start early this year. I'll do what I can before then in cold snowy/rainy Ohio. I'll buy about $50 worth of vegetable plants and flowers in May, once it warms up. I don't plan to spend on anything else but will look to see what I can find for free along the way. I wish we could afford to create a large patio or deck with a pergola along the back of the house but it's not in the budget. We had 6 mature trees in our yard and all except 2 have been taken down due to rot. The other 2 trees need removed so we'll ask around to see if we can get them removed for free by someone who wants firewood. I have lawn furniture and decor on the front porch but it needs cleaned up. The lawn furniture for the backyard is stored in the barn for the winter.


Our backyard from the side entrance patio. 















 















The backside of the house and our firepit.
















The weeds need removed around the shed and the squirrel feeder need straightened.
















I need to till and clean up my vegetable garden. I need to plant vegetables in mid-May. We collected free bricks last fall from someone giving them away for free. We hope to eventually have enough to build a patio along the back of the house.














  

I had a vegetable garden along the shed for many years but let it grow in the last couple years. I still have a blackberry bush and it needs trimmed and tied up.
















My front and side gardens. The perennials that I had planted have been killed off by an invasive ground cover. I need to remove the bulb plants and transplant them to the garden along the front porch. I had clematis on the wire trellises but they didn't come back last year.
















The garden on the side of the house. The tree needs removed, it was planted too close to the house.
  
 












 





















Our front porch and bulb garden along the porch.
















The tree in the front of our house.






















Our house from the street taken in October 2014.


Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Our Living Room Redo

It took us 2 month but it's done! We completed our floor refinishing last night in the living room. We did 3 layers of Shellac and 1 layer of water-based Polyurethane. We finished painting the walls 2 weeks ago. The lighting isn't great but the wall color is called Special White Chocolate. It's the same white we've been using throughout the house. We need to wait a week to move the furniture back. We'll be putting back up the fan blades, curtains, and replacing the light outlets/switch plates too. I need to spray paint the register vents, stencil the hydrangea's on one wall, and paint the wood furniture. That may take me a month or longer.








Thursday, April 12, 2018

Crafting for the Grandkids

I bought these metal trays and metal box at that the thrift store. I'm using them in the travel/camping/restaurant kit that I created for our grandkids. I sanded and spray painted them. The color is Krylon ColorMaster Paint & Primer in Satin Ivory. The trays will be used as lap trays for projects or coloring while in their car seats. I bought the magnetic paper dolls at the Dollar General to go inside the box that I painted.

 















I made these mini books out of scraps of cardstock, printer paper, stickers, and embroidery floss. I used the embroidery floss sew the spine of the book and pages together. 


Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Artist Trading Cards: Part 2

This is my 2nd time working on my set of  ATC's with index cards. My original post Artist Trading Cards: Part 1 was in September 2013. I used magazine collage on these cards and did a lot more cards that my last time making them.

I named the cards from left to right, Seafood, Impossible Bottle, and Crab Cakes. I'm not sure why the picture turned up the wrong direction.


I named these cards Blue Metallic Bird and Mexican Bird.



















I named these cards, Yellow Flower, Pink Aqua, and Sad Dog.



















I named these cards, Eat Cupcake!, Devil Dog, Thumbs Up!, and Happy Mouth!
















Philly Cheese Steak


























4 Dinner Rolls
8 oz. thin sliced roast beef
½ cup sautéed onions, green peppers, mushrooms
4 slices of American cheese
Preheat oven to 350. Split dinner rolls and place cut side up on ungreased baking sheet. Divide roast beef and vegetables evenly onto dinner rolls, and top with cheese. Place sandwiches into preheated oven and heat 5-7 minutes, until cheese melts.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Finding Grace
















Life can be very hard and painful. Don't give up hope or let others steal your happiness. The events of your life don't determine your value or your identity. Don't let anything steal your joy. The core of who you are is your greatest treasure and speaks your truth. You can't always change things that happen but you can choose to rise up and be a person of inner strength, grace, and love. Choose to have a good life despite your circumstances, attitude is everything. Lean on the Lord for your strength and hope. (This is how I try to live my life and what I tell my children who are young adults.) ❤️❤️❤️