Comfort Pack-super easy gift!

I have been wanting to make one of these packs for a while and finally got around to it. I bought a foot of flannel and created a pocket. I made a sack of muslin and poured the flax seed in and blind stitched the edge. The muslin pack fit into the flannel pocket and then I blind stitched it. A super easy, inexpensive project! I paid $1.86 for the flannel and $4.00 for the flax seed-I already had the muslin. I bought my flax seed in bulk at our local organic co-op. The reason for the flax is that the seeds are so small they really help the pack conform to your body. It also stays warm for a long time since flax is about 40% oil. You just pop the pack in the microwave for a few minutes for a hot pack or in the freezer for a cold pack. This one is a gift for a friend who starts chemo. today.

Butterflies in My Garden

We are enjoying this Lord's Day with family. I hope you are relaxing today! These pictures are off my patio. I have a hummingbird/butterfly garden there. These are a few of our visitors.

Cute and Inexpensive Hostess Gift

This is a very inexpensive hostess gift or housewarming gift or teacher gift. I think it is cute. Sorry the pictures aren't great. It is raining cats and dogs today so I had to find some light. I bought the little round trivet thingy at Big Lots for $3.00. Judging with my hand, I think the diameter is about 4 inches. I then went into my Word program and found a font I liked. Now I free-handed mine(perhaps you can tell?) onto my trivet but you could transfer it using the newspaper method or transfer paper method, whatever. Then you use this and paint the letter onto the plate. I did bake my plate as it instructs on the bottle for 30 min.
How sweet, huh? You could attach a hook on the back. I use this little brass stand I bought at a thrift store for 10 cents, gotta love it! Head over to Kimba's and check out everyone's goodies!

By No Means Pretty Yet Necessary!

Ladies, let me just start by saying if I don't get a good night's rest tonight I might just have a melt-down! Some people in our neighborhood have been rehabing their house for a few weeks now. We are talking gutting with gusto! I am absolutely all for it and want them to succeed-really, I do. Just not at 1 and 2 am. I don't know about you but I totally see why we have our babies in our youth and right now 35 doesn't feel all that youthful!
Ok, on with the post. How many of you have one of thesefire-proof boxes? I found one last week at Big Lots for a great deal. If you don't have one, you really need to consider getting one. I don't have loads of valuables that I need to tuck into a safe. No family jewels here! But it is a good idea to keep all of those important papers inside. Here are items to consider: birth certificates, marriage licenses, social security cards, last two years taxes, wills, life insurance policies,titles, deeds, mortgage paperwork, retirement info. etc. If your household is like mine, you are the one doing the bills. In this new paperless age we are paying more and more bills online. If our hubby needed to take over it would be a catastrophe. Shoot! Mine couldn't even log onto my computer without me. SO, this box is a great place to store all of that info. It will all be in one place if needed.
Now don't forget to lock it. Not just because of someone's uninvited eyes but also because if a fire were to strike at your home, that would really not be the time to think about wishing you would have locked the box as it tumbles through the floors of your dwelling. Now about those keys, I have it on good authority that when the box is in a fire the outer shell sorta melts so it will take more than a key to get it open. So just make sure you keep the key in a place convenient for you on an everyday basis and maybe put the other in your safety deposit box.
Not that I wish any illwill on anyone but being prepared is always fashionable. I just know one of you ladies can find a way to make those boxes pretty. Someone will have decoupaged theirs, painted it, scrapbooked it..........

Heirloom Party--Late again!

I am always so late to these blog parties! Sorry. I just don't catch them fast enough.
I am the oldest grandchild/great grandchild on both sides of my family. As far as I can tell I am the only sentimental one in the bunch so when the greats went into the nursing home the year I got married we started with a lot of household stuff. Granted, I am one of the few adult great grandchildren. One of my favorite heirlooms is this china. My grandparents got this china
for their 50th wedding anniversary. The neat thing is I was 5 at the time and remember sitting with them at the head table of their anniversary party. They took care of me a lot when I was very young and I loved them.


This Fostoria glass was my grandparents wedding gift on my Mom's side. A few of the pieces in my collection were part of my great grandmother's collection. I love using these pieces because my grandmother is gone now. I never remember a table set with any of the Fostoria. She had a difficult childhood and I think this collection is one of just a few nice things she had. She was a woman full of fire. I love her for it. See the little precious moments figurine? My husband gave that to me as a wedding present.Today is our 13th anniversary. What a blessing!


This linen is precious to me.
My Mum's grandmother was a divorcee. We are talking about the 40's here. Divorce was not nearly as common then as it is now. Not many jobs were available for women. She had four girls to raise. Rough. She raised her girls by working as a seamstress. She was amazing with her hands. I have doilies, dresser runners and lace edged pillowcases. I even have a runner that was done by 4 different generation...my great grandmother, my grandmother my mother and I. I admire her courage and strength.

Finally, I won't show you a picture but my engagement ring was my grandmother's engagement ring. I will never forget when my grandfather gave it to me he said, "I hope you never have to sell this!" Hmm,that is someone who lived through the depression, someone who went off to war as a boy to help his widowed mother keep the family running, and chose to spend the war in a submarine because it meant more money for his Mum.
I am thankful for the heirlooms, they are reminders of the character of my family and how God has carried my family through difficult times.

Saturday Thrift Shopping-A Soap Dispenser

It is time for another link party visit Southern Hospitality to join in on the fun and take a look what others have found on their adventures! Let me start by saying I AM EXHAUSTED. Friday I mowed, edged, weeded, and trimmed. I also worked a few hours in my office and did all the laundry, finished sanding my free cherry headbooard (that is for another post), and ran lunch to my hubby. Today I woke up at 6 to work in my office for a while and then finish weeding the patio. Since hubby is working for the weekend I decided a little thrift shopping was needed. I think I scored!


I love roosters! I found the wire rooster and the wall plaque on this trip. We love iced tea spoons, so 8 more are a welcomed addition. I also bought the little relish forks since I have none of those. My boys looooove those Magic Tree House books. I actually purchased 8 of them. Now for my favorite.... I saw
this over at Creations by Kara and I thought, "Cute, but I will NEVER find one of those!" Well,today I found one. So this mouthwash dispenser is now on my dryer with laundry detergent in it! Whoohoo!

Keeping the Homeschool Stuff Straight

We have only two more weeks of summer vacation before we need to go back to our full schedule and that got me thinking...you might be interested in seeing how I keep things organized. I bought this bookcase at our thrift store for $39.00!!! What a steal for a REAL bookcase!

It only had two shelves when I purchased it. I am so thankful we have a really handy gentleman in our church who was willing to make me two more shelves. I keep the kids reference books, science, history and free reading books on the shelves along with lined paper and graph paper. The bucket has flashcards and math manipulatives in it. I keep the boys' workbooks and notebooks in their individual backpacks because we sort of ooze all over the house when we homeschool. Reading on the futon in the "mantuary" because it gets the best morning light, math and handwriting at the kitchen table for the posture and structure, beds for reading etc.

The picture wire is strung across the wall is attached to eyelet screws. One of my guys LOVES art and this is a great inexpensive way to have an art gallery.
The plastic box ( I know soooooo beautiful!) is for my teacher manuals, tests and keys.
The green bin is actually for silverware. I bought it on clearance and it is great for holding supplies such as glue, white board pens, pencils. Again, very portable, easy to keep tidy.


So this is the back of the door in this room. The organizer is from a dollar store. I keep little stuff such as math manipulatives, extra art supplies, and pencils here so they are easy to grab. See all those bags. Crazy, huh? My husband does not call me "the bag lady" for nothin'! The kids each have a bag for Awana and then the other two are piano bags. Usually there is a church bag there as well.

Finally, the prettier side of the room. I know, I know, attack of the fake flowers. Here is the thing, they are really nice, expensive fake flowers. Well, they would have been if I hadn't bought them from a designer shop going out of business! I also teach piano and voice lessons, that mess gets disheveled on a regular basis. I love love love that clock. So unique,unless you have one and I don't know it yet! Feel free to tell me with what I should replace those flowers.