Future Idea

Although I've decided not to try and keep up with this anymore, I thought it might be fun to do a flick'r account for crafty project photos.  It's quick and simple to upload photos, so I'll let you know when I get that account figured out.  It may sound silly, but it sure feels good to not think about keeping up with this blog anymore!! 

The whole house issue is not the end of the world, both times we've listed it we've gotten buyers almost immediately, so I'm thinking it will work out before too long.  It's just very tough to be paying a mortgage and rent, bills at each house, and living on 1/2 the budget we used to have!  It's beautiful and sunny here today, not to mention 40 degrees (in the middle of December!); and we sure have a nice little family.  Last night we went to Dollar Tree to look for a silicone pan (more on that later), used up the last of Breanna's gift-card from her birthday at Dairy Queen for some good old ice cream fun, and celebrated the fact that we still have a really nice house in Alaska.  Ha ha.  Actually, maybe we should go for a vacation!  =)

The reason we were looking for a silicone pan, is because my friend Katie showed a fun post about making crayon shapes from broken crayons.  We gave it a try, what fun!  Not sure how we're going to get the rest of the wax out to try again, but the kids are sure how fun they'll be to color with! 

Thanks for reading my blog, hopefully it has inspired you to be creative, and I'll let you know my flick'r address when I get it.  Might be next week, I'm working on the JoAnn's quilting challenge and it's due this Saturday!

Pictures

Ok, so I need some help.  (Here's where my brothers would jump in and start making teasing remarks of the truth of that!)  But this is as far as photos.  Don't know about you, but I don't really enjoy blogs without photos.  Especially if they are of crafty stuff, I need to see pictures to be inspired!  Is it just me, or are you all having trouble uploading them?  I can do one at a time, then switch over to dashboard, then back again... it gets annoying, not to mention severely deminishes my desire to post!  Do I need to upload a newer version, or am I doing something wrong?  I've been taking some pictures so that I can post to help inspire you all to sew, or at least try.  Any advise?  Here's one, since none would be severely boring. 

Andy helping Daddy split firewood on Saturday.

Crafty Stuff

Here are a few of the projects I've finished since moving. 

Today Lois is watching the boys while I have a "mommy day", so I'm going to get sewing while I have the chance!  She offered to watch them while I went shopping in Bend, but I decided rather than taking two hours of that time just driving, I'd stay home and sew.

This little tote is for my cousin Tami, who requested it after she completely wore the previous one I made her to shreds.  What better compliment is there than that, someone loving what you made them so much, they wore it out and need another?!

And this little apron I made similar to one Tami's mom made for Mom, only I shrunk it down to Breanna's size for her birthday.

And even smaller for her dolly to match, I just wish there was enough fabric for me one to match!  This tiny one is so cute, and I decided next time I'm going to make the bigger one with a gathered waist also.  It just looks more flattering.

Mom got this mirror from a garage sale quite awhile ago, it was sitting in the basement to someday be painted white.  Breanna loves purple, so I just cleaned the cobwebs off and left it that way!

She loves butterflies, and I had these little ones from shower-curtain-hooks in our bathroom in Alaska.  We only have one shower and it has a glass door, so I pulled the hooks out of the back and glued them on.  I also included a couple larger white butterflies Kristy gave me awhile back.

She loved the result, and it looks cute in her bedroom!

We also needed a dresser, so Mom gave me an extra she had that really needed refinished.  I wish I'd taken a picture before Dad started sanding and painting it, but I'll just say it was pretty bad.  Kindof a yellowish color, and someone had etched flowers and initials all over.  It's in our bedroom now, and I absolutely love it.

Tyler also made a coat-rack from an old piece of barn-wood and some hooks he painted black.  This house has lots of closets, but we needed something for the kids to be able to reach for their coats.  I'm feeling quite spoiled all the neat things popping up around here! 

Tyler also helped me set up the quilting machine table, and put the machine back together; and it works!

Hope to have lots of fun things finished by the end of the day, but that means I'd better get off the computer.  Have a wonderful day!

We're not on the trip anymore...

Kylee kindly let me know yesterday that I haven't even told my blog that I'm not on the trip anymore.  Oh my, the thought of still driving that bus after this many weeks.... I don't even want to think about that!  One side of my back is still all knotted up from sitting for a week, turned sideways to see out the front as we drove. It's so nice to be able to go to sleep in your own cozy bed every night, and move about the house.  After weeks of packing and finishing the house we left, then a week on the road, it felt soooooo good to be "home" and get back to normal life. 

So yes, we are now moved to Oregon; and we are loving it!  Talking to friends back in Alaska I almost feel like I'm cheating, not dealing with rediculous weather.  We are getting winter here, but it's amazing..... the snow comes for a few days, then goes away!  So strange it seems, last winter it got cold and snowy.... then  colder and more snowy.... from about October till April.  I hear they start planting crops in February here, so that tells me this is going to be a different story.  And supposedly it doesn't get above about 90 or 95 degrees in the summer, so I can handle this!  Another strange thing, is that down here it gets light in the morning about the time you are supposed to get up, not 3 hours later.  Amazing.  I do love Alaska, but I certainly don't miss the weather.

We are also really enjoying being closer to family, the past 3 days we saw Kylee & Kiera & Doug right here at our house!  The cousins got to play together so much, and aunty Anna sent them all matching jammies, so we got some fun photos.

These two are very close.  Breanna was wishing she could have missed some school while she was here.

One of the downers of moving, is all the special friends we left behind.  There are some wonderful people down here too, but we still miss our northern friends.

But I'm sure glad we got to bring these kiddos along! 

This was when we were shopping for a "moving" vehicle, they were impressed with aunt Lindsey's "window in the roof".

And yes I have been sewing; that actually is the problem.  You see, so many things have been going on, that when I get a spare moment I feel like sewing, not blogging.  And of course, it's quite inspiring to blog when people are leaving comments.  Then I know they are actually reading this!  =)  I'll get some of my sewing projects on soon (I promise), but right now Andy is sleeping and in a little while I need to get Breanna from school, so on to some sewing!