Hello? It's me again!

Hello all! Apparently I decided to take a 2 1/2 month blog break. I know, you wish I would've warned you. But, the thing is, it just sorta happened on the fly. I got busy, was too lazy to post, and my sister moved away (that's a whole other post). And to top it all off, my computer decided to succumb to one or several of the viruses floating around WebLand. So, when I was ready to post two weeks ago...ha! no internet connection! So there. Those pesky little 1's and 0's showed me! I just thought I was gonna get back into the swing of blogging.

Anyway, my computer has been revived (thank you, Lord) and I am anxious to show you what I've been up to this summer. Yes, I have a few PICTURES! Yay! Actually, this post is going to be rife with pics since I'm so behind. They may or may not be in chronological order, though. It depends on how cooperative Blogger is today. *wink*

Many of you know that my sister and I like to make stuff and since she now lives thousands of miles away (I can exaggerate if I want to) this blog will be my route to showing her, and you, what I create. I may occasionally post pics of things I buy that I want to show my Sis, as well. And, of course, I'll still be posting pics of things that my Sweetie & I do together. This means that all of you may be completely bored with the pics I post from time to time. But! If you're nosy like me, you may just love it! :) Here we go...

We've been to the Red River several times to swim & play

My friend, K's, little girl turned 1 year old at the beginning of August. I decided to make her a stuffed puppy dog for her birthday. I used McCall's #M4893. I was intimidated at first, but it turned out to be easier than it looked! This is the first "patterned" project I've done by myself. As in, no Mama there to run to for every little question!

All cut out and ready to sew!

Side view of the finished puppy. Some of you may remember this fabric from the "Perfect Tote" I made a while back. I used my leftover fat quarters from that bag to make this project.


Front view. I love how its tail is so perky!

Bottom view. Gotta have some toile!

My personal favorite part of the puppy...the ribbon collar! There was a pattern piece to make a collar out of fabric, but I wanted to do something different *ahem* easier. Hey, I was tired of sewing at that point! No, actually, I was going to tie a bow out of some brown velvet ribbon but as I was playing around with my options, I happened upon this look and loved it. So, that's how the ribbon collar came to be! The polka dots are actually the same pink as the rest of the fabrics, even though they look white in the photo.

My mom gave me this adorable patriotic flower pot at the beginning of the summer. My Sis didn't want to have to pack it, so I got it instead. Score! I found this puny little lavender plant on sale at Lowe's. I'm hoping the plant is just a late bloomer and will take off next season. By the way, more to come about the chair in just a sec...

New vignette in my front living room. I "shopped the house" and put some old stuff to new use. The tables are covered in pillow shams! Ha! Hey, they hide the corners that served as Buster's teething tables! This is also a "before" photo of the window treatment in this room.

"After" photo. I like to call this look "Country Chic" since we have the pretties alongside the deer antlers and mounted ducks. Those plaid panels were only $15 at Wal-Mart and the green plant stand in the middle was $20 at Ross! I already had the valance and the curtain rod is another Wal-Mart find. Sis, do you notice my latest Willow Tree's on the tables? I love them, thanks!

Close-up of the curtain rod

Ok, this was a project I tackled back in mid-spring. Our friends, K & P, gave us one of their old dining table chairs and I figured it would appreciate a second life. It was your typical brown chair with tan reeding and seat fabric. It had great lines so I decided to make it unique and have fun with the color. Hence, the bubblegum pink. I sanded the shiny varnish off first, and then did a couple coats of white primer. Next came the pink and white. All of this was done using spray paint! I love that stuff! I especially love the trigger handles you can get for the cans. Keeps those fingertips from going numb! Oh, and the seat fabric? It was a remnant I had in my fabric stash! How cool is that? I had been looking all over for fabric that I liked, and I ended up having some in my closet! I still haven't finished the seat, though. I bought new foam to go on there and I need to actually staple the fabric on. It's just tucked around the existing seat for right now.

My Sweetie finally got the new boat he's been wanting! This is straight from the factory. After I took this pic, he took it down to Bass Pro to get the console, steering wheel, & motor mounted. Then he installed the seats himself. I'll have to put a finished pic of the boat on here later. We love it and have already taken it out several times!

I love sweet tea and wanted something cute to store my tea bags in. But, I couldn't find anything in the stores that struck my fancy. So, I went down to my favorite store, Hobby Lobby, and picked up an unfinished wooden box to paint myself. Here's what I came up with:


I mixed a little gold paint with the brown to give it some sparkle. 'Cause you know I love me some bling! The gold thing on the front is supposed to resemble a name plaque or something. I haven't decided if I like that though. What do y'all think? Should I take it off? Or what else could I do to it?


My Honey got me a Pink Dazzle Chi hair iron for my birthday! Yay! And my friend, P, gave me this adorable beach towel for my birthday as well. Gotta love monograms! She also gave me some really cute recipe cards but I forgot to stick them in the picture. Oops! Thanks, y'all!

I have a few more pics of stuff I wanted to show y'all but I can't find them on my computer right now. Oh well, there's always next time!

Nathan & I are leaving tomorrow to go home to Tennessee to visit the family and I haven't decided if I want to tote the laptop or not. So, I may talk to y'all soon, or it might be a week or so. After 2 1/2 months, what's a week, huh? I hope y'all are having a great day! Bye now!