great second hand finds

because i live out in the middle of nowhere, i get to go into the "big" town about once a week. we make the trek of 45 minutes and that's where i do all my shopping for the week, and all the fast food eatin' for the week, oh yes, and my weekly venture into the second hand store. this week was a gold mine in my eyes. i mean look at that fabric! look at the vintage tin! ahhhh! i walked away very happy! yes. i. did.

add a little elastic and oh yes it's going to be so yummy. i really can't wait to start on it! oh yeah and happy halloween!

i found her doing this

the little one was kind of quiet so i knew something was up...i told you she liked to organize. keep in mind NONE of those cans were there because i put them there...that was all her. she's even got the "verizon bar" thing going! hmm i should probably start looking in the yellow pages for therapists. oh wait i'm married to one when he's not playing soldier.

on a painting fix

i made these yesturday for my bedroom...did i mention i'm slowly working on transforming my room? well i am, and i'm loving nature inspired things. i know that's probably soo 3 years ago, but i've had the same look going throughout my house for 10 and a half years. i think it's time for a little change here and there. not major just minor things...

i'm thinking, that there might be a slight possiblity that i might try to paint my boys' room. but that's a big fat maybe seeing that i have 4 of them usually running around my ankles and if there's paint involved...watch out! but if i get my act together and plan a little i might be able to do it while they are in school or when they sleep in the living room in sleeping bags on friday night (it's turned into a tradition now) so yeah...a big fat maybe.

i'm not quite sure what look i'm going for yet, i just know the paint color on the walls. after the paint goes up i think i'll be able to see things better. mainly i want a place for them to sleep, read, play with some toys, but most importantly, i want it to be clutter free. 1. Kids room theme:, 2. Army Men Kids Room Theme, 3. Domino Design Project Kid's Room, 4. Boy's bedroom, 5. bunk beds, 6. Pottery Barn Rugs, 7. pottery_barn_kids_rooms2, 8. sport theme, 9. Carson's Big Boy Bed, 10. hookey1, 11. Boys room, 12. wyatt's new big boy bed

my first post at blissfully domestic

check it out here. i had issues with the picture loading up process but on my next post i finally got it...i'll let you know when it comes out. it's kind of exciting on this side of the computer...

it may be fall outside, but it feels like spring in here

i 'm so in love with the whole process of the grandmother's flower. of course give me a few more hundred of these babies and we'll see what kind of tune i'll be singing then. but i love the fact that i can go anywhere and at anytime just start working on it.

i want to thank all of you that suggested tutorials, who made me tutorials, and who shared their stories that went along with making this magnificent quilt. the long and slow process of this quilt makes for some wonderful stories that go along with them. i wonder what mine will be?

my house needs some major tlc. so for the next few days i'm going to deep clean it. i was able to take some more family pictures (with the husband included this time). the next few days will be spent with the little one (while the boys are at school) working by my side while we clean and organize (for a 2 year old she sure is good at it, and not in your traditional 2 year old way...she'll be teaching me a thing or two by the her next birthday i'm sure) i'm also planning to work on my nine patch and check out some of you that have made yourself known on my blog (i've attempted a few times only to be frustrated that blogger has issues and timesout and i can't get to your links). i love meeting all of you! oh and i hear some of you might want a tutorial on the nine patch? okay i'll start working on that.

pumpkins, and a nine patch quilt in the works

dear GI joe husband,
next year you get to carve the pumpkins because your boys are pansies and couldn't handle the "gross innards" they then decided that carving them was "too hard" so yeah guess what... i did all 3 of the boys, and i'm pretty sure my hand is going to be cramped into the formation of holding a carving knife for a looooong time. they need you around to show them how to be men. my favorite quote of the night was from your 8 year old son who said "mom, you are doing such a great job, even if it doesn't look good, you are doing a great job." gee thanks kid. he then added "no, i'm not saying it looks bad, but if it were to look bad you are doing a great job anyways." hmm, i think i'll take that as a compliment,i heard "great job" three times so i'm taking that and running with it... i'm having that kind of day (well it's sure a whole heck of a lot better than sunday).
oh and this weekend wasn't ALL bad, before it went down the toilet my fabulous friend who just so happens to be a professional quilter and i got together on saturday, she came over and while our seven children ran in circles and jumped on the trampoline, she worked on her applique, and i started to sew all my strips together for my nine patch...i got to do a little more yesterday and that made me happy.
love,
your adoring wife who's still trying her darndest to hold on tight to anything just to keep the sanity.

a new day, a new week, a new start...

first things first: thank you for the kind words, prayers, thoughts, understanding, and quotes. your lovely comments and emails were read carefully, i smiled and cried some more. thank you.
second: i hope that i do not come across as someone who is not who she is. i have a lot of crappy days, no, i mean moments...but all the sewing and projects and whatever stuff i do with the kids is just so that i can have my mind busy...if it's not busy, i let moments get into days...i've been doing this sort of self therapy for years now. i really do keep doing projects not to keep up an appearance, but because i'm trying to make each day go smooth and without "bad" sad thoughts.

i've dealt with anxiety all my life, as the years have progressed sometimes my anxiety has become crippling. i found this to be very true as a new mother. the anxiety of being someones caregiver at times was overwhelming. and i hated those bad feelings about motherhood. as the years passed on and some great medicines later...i was able to learn how to deal with my anxiety of keeping safe or messing up these wonderful little people that i call my children...i learned so much about myself, one was how to cope with this issue. i decided early on when my first born was around 18 months that i wanted to be a well rounded kind of mom. i did not want my anxiety of motherhood to affect my relationship with my child or my future children. i wanted to learn how to do things, i wanted to make things, i wanted to be able to teach my kids things. with that i learned that i loved to keep a house a home, i loved to make things organized and clean, there is so much fulfillment there! i've always have known i like to look at beautiful home magazines, but without the funds to just go out and buy that look, i had to learn to be creative. i learned about my passion of finding things that someone else would throw away, take it, and make it better...the wonderful fulfillment in that was astounding. with each child that i've had i've added more that i wanted to learn to do so that i could teach them. how to be thrifty, how to organize, how to sew, how to... let go of anxieties of being a bad mother...so yes i do get much done, but mainly it's for my sanity and for the sake of my children that i do what i do. i want them to have a happy mommy that can teach them things, but mainly i want them to see that mommy loves being their mom, and even the hardest to times, i can try to make things better and make the time go by quickly. yes i can honestly say i love being a mom, i find it to be my divine calling in this life, there is no other thing i would much rather be, and i will not let my anxiety make bad moments turn into days. i owe that to my kids. my children have pushed me to want to be a better person.

so with that being said. i went to bed early i watched my "Friends" dvds, and i worked on my hexagons for my grandmother's garden quilt. when i woke up my kids this morning i woke them up with the saying that i always use after a bad day "good morning, today is a new day, lets start if off great" off to school they went but not without some bumps in the road. just all in the day of motherhood. so i'm working on somethings today again, in between of being a mom to my kids i hope to get some organizing, and cleaning, and maybe some sewing in there as well. thank you all for being part of my coping mechanism!

really good at faking it..

today seemed to be one of the worst days in a long time.

i'm pretty good at faking it...that i have it almost all together...most of the time. but you can only take so much sometimes when you just feel like you're "broken." i know that's no way to talk, but yes i feel broken at this moment. and sometimes a really hard cry is all you can do.
i was selfish and started feeling sorry for myself because my children were acting horrible at church, i started to feel stupid that we were falling apart in front of everyone and i can't even tell you how many nice people asked me if i was okay (which just made me tear up even more), i started feeling angry at myself that i was childish and kept getting pulled in and fight with my 8 year old, i started to feel sorry for myself as i watched everyone with their families get to go home with their spouse to enjoy a lazy sunday afternoon. i started to feel sorry for myself because i had to follow through and tell the 8 year old that yes in fact he was grounded from the PSP, i then continued to feel sorry for myself when he started yelling at me how mean i was and what a horrible mother i was. so yes i broke and i broke hard, and unfortunately i did it in public. ugh at church no less. where people you look up to, respect, and love are...where it's suppose to be a HAPPY place. i was asked to come over to some body's house for dinner, i declined politely "maybe some other time thank you so much for the invitation though." i wanted to add "because i just want to be alone...and cry really hard not this tearing up business that i'm doing here, i'm holding back just for your benefit...when i get home i'm going to let the tears fly!"
so that's what i did. i cried and then i had comfort food: lasagna, and a mint choc chip shake. the 8 year old and i talked...he got angry, but i was too tired so all i could do was cry softly, and tell him all i knew to say "i'm trying my best bud, i really am. i'm trying to do as the Lord has asked me to do, i go to church, i make sure you are okay, and i love you...and sometimes that means i have to teach you by having to put my foot down." and when you go to sleep i'm going to eat some more ice cream and watch a movie that will make me cry but for different reason.

it then occurred to me that i'm allowed to feel overwhelmed, and sorry for myself sometimes because lets face it most of the other times i'm in la-la land and i fill up my day with the daily grind and projects and i fake myself into believing that i'm able to handle it. like i said i fake it really well but i think i do it for a reason...yes it's all for a reason...

1. if i fake it, i then believe it, and then it becomes reality in my mind.
2. if it becomes reality in my mind then i feel stronger.
3. when i feel strong i start thinking things like "i can do this!"
4. when i think "i can do this!" sometimes i find myself really doing it.

but some days it all crashes down on you and you have to wonder...am i ever going to get through this? well yes i do believe that i will...i just got to get back to faking it.

i guess with one day down (even the worst of ones) it's one day closer to having my partner back who's shoulder i can cry on...
damn i miss you.

before and after::my buffet

this piece of furniture was GI joe husband's grandma's dresser...i wish i had a better picture of the before but i don't sorry! all you need to know is that the handles were gold and yuck and well i wasn't diggin' the wood. this has been on my to do list for a few years, and i'm just so dang excited that it's done!

i also had to paint the wall, which was the hardest thing for me to do because i don't like to paint walls but it had to be done so i did it...

it's defitnitly a step in the right direction...i still need to figure out the decorating on it and the plates but all in all, good steps in the right direction.

have a good weekend, i have a date with barbara the loner sewing machine, and star wars the clone wars is showing in our movie theater here in town so me and the kids are going to that! i may even get inspired and paint a little more...but who knows what next weeks obsession will be.

great finds and a redo teaser

found these lovelies for the little ones wall over her second hand dresser, found at the second hand store for $.50 to $1 each... i'm super excited about it coming all together.

this thing is a beast and i want to make it look real good so it's taking me a few days to do it...but it will be done soon! i'm super excited cause i've been dancing around redo-ing this piece of furniture for years and i've finally have got it almost done...stay tuned...

"i'll watch your kids if you take my pictures."

...that's what she said and i laughed in her face and said "oh you're serious...you know i DON'T know what i'm doing, right?""...and i don't have an awesome camera right?"
"...and i usually just take pictures of my crazy kids and my quilts right?"
she said "i know, but i don't have money to spend on pictures, and you don't have a husband to watch your kids while you work out...so lets give it a try."
well, i still say i don't know what i'm doing and i just got lucky with these 'cause her kids are so dang cute...

before and after::second hand dresser

remember this tired old gal i got for $30 on my trip in california? yeah the one i threatened my kids that they were going to be strapped up on the roof of the car if i didn't get to fit it in my trunk? well take a look at her now:
with just one coat of paint (it's getting too cold to spray paint so the next coat is going to have to wait for next year) she's starting to look pretty good. oh and there's one handle that's sort of broken but i think GI joe husband might be able to fix it. i'm still on the hunt for some more plates for little ones wall but all in all it's turning out pretty good...i'm working on my buffet today, i'm a painting machine!

the secret to organizing

i absolutely love how i feel when things are organized. that's what this fall has really been about at my house. slowly but surely i'm trying to get back my organizing skills that i had when we bought our first little house. really, that was the most organized i have ever been it seems. i was trying to figure out why... and i've come to a few conclusions a.) it was a small place 1200 sq ft. b.) i didn't have much and when we moved into that house i didn't have enough to fill in all the storage space that came with it. c.) it was OURS (our first ours) believe it or not that made a huge difference in my eyes, and d.) it was before we started moving every few years.
since buying our second home, i feel like i'm slowly getting back to that organizing *need*. we've been here the longest in the past 4 years...a whole whopping ALMOST 2 years. yeah moving is tough...and i've been having those nesting feelings that everything should have a place. only problem is: we have more kids, we have more furniture, we have more STUFF, we even have more pets...so i'm trying to reclaim simplicity which has come to be the real secret to organizing in my eyes... constantly weeding out old, or un-used items is the best place to start. i've started in my closets and gone out...just think about it. less clothes means smaller mounds of laundry, smaller mounds of laundry means easier times stuffing the clothes into the drawers, which means less clothes lying around not knowing where to house them. so i'm applying that (again) to every single drawer, closet, nook and cranny in my house. then i will try to tackle my car which you basically need to be up to date on all your tetanus shots to feel safe to get into (but i guess that's a cleaning thing not an organizing thing)...happy organizing.

**as a disclaimer i want to let everyone know that i will not *reclaim simplicity* in buying fabric, i will forever indulge in buying fabric, THAT ALSO makes me happy, just wanted to be clear on that!

my thoughts::making a house a home

i truely believe no matter where you live you should make it the best place on earth for your family. that has been my motto since our first place we lived in. we managed apartments, we lived in a tiny little hole of an apartment, we had nothing, that by far was a great place to start...as time has gone on i have been able to collect special pieces of furniture through "trash" collecting from college students who left things behind by the dumpster and made it my own, and through going to second hand stores, so i may not have pottery barn everything ( i love thier style!)...but it's lovely just the same in my eyes. i feel like you can take anything and make it just that much better with a little love and paint. that is what i hope to start on this weekend, i feel like i've put off my painting projects for too long, negelected my home, neglected my "nesting"...so wish me luck i hope to get some things done, organizing, painting, and hanging with the kids...

1. Our new house - the kitchen, 2. Wall O' Hankies, 3. E's room, 4. Elin's room, 5. Annie's room, 6. paint.and.print, 7. studio.sprucing, 8. New Old Chesterfield, 9. Velvet green pillows., 10. Christmas cabinet, 11. Lauren's Room, 12. Who needs orange?, 13. treats for me, 14. treats for myself, 15. my interview with Vintage Indie, 16. Out of control, 17. polka dots, 18. corner of my home, 19. corner of my home, 20. Cozy entry...., 21. Dining Room Area, 22. Millie's (tidy) corner, 23. Inspiration, 24. Inspiration, 25. Mums front door

family photos by maggi

while GI joe husband was here i was privileged to meet up with my really great friend maggi. she's been doing our pictures for about 6 years now. we don't get to see eachother very often but whenever we get together within minutes we are laughing like we've been hanging out every single day...she gets me and my fam. i think she captured our family perfectly.

i got these off her blog i haven't seen the rest of them but i have a feeling they are going to make me tear up and be just as fantastic as these have been.
go check out her blog she's in the american fork, utah area and does weddings and family portraits. she's pretty fantastic if you ask me! thank you maggi for being such an awesome friend all these years and thank you for capturing these priceless photos of my loved ones!

no worries your daughter has it covered...

my last pinwheel quilt for a while

this quilt was made out of shang-ri-la moda charm packs (2 of them)

i'm super burnt out on pinwheels for the moment, making two big quilts has done it for me...so i'm off to continue my nine patch...but i've been sort of side tracked with grandmother's garden ideas...all of it has to be on hold for this week though because i am busy making hair bows, runners, and baby doll quilts for the craft fair this weekend. i won't be there but some of my stuff will be there. next year though i think i'm going to go all out.

tutorial:: how to applique

so this is the "oh crap i have company coming over tonight and i need to make something holiday-ish looking" applique tutorial. it's not my favorite looking applique technique but it gets the job done. maybe some other time i can show you "i've got time on my hands cause my husband is watching football and i can do this while i sit there with him" technique. so off to the tutorial:

go get yourself some heat and bond iron on adhesive (i like ultra heavy duty one cause that makes sure it's stuck on there for good) get some cute orange fabric and some scraps of green for the stems. oh and a background fabric, i chose tan, because i wanted a black frame, but if you make it into a pillow i would suggest black, the pumpkins "pop" with color when you have a black background.
okay first make some pumpkin and stem templates out of paper. and before you say i can't draw a pumpkin look how derange mine are and say "yes i can make ugly looking pumpkins just like v" trust me they wont look ugly when they are done. trace onto your heat and bond on the PAPER side, cut them out leaving and edge around your drawing (it makes it easier to cut with the paper instead of right up to the paper) you'll see...
iron on to the wrong side of you fabric (paper side up to your iron, cause if you do it the other way your iron will have a huge glue-y mess.)
do the same to the stems and iron on...

cut our your shape by cutting on the penciled lines, turn it around and oh look it's cute, sort of...
next peel off the paper and you have a plastic coating on the back of your pumpkins and stems.
place them on your background fabric (make sure your stems are a little behind your pumpkins) iron on top till they don't budge.

place in a frame and display! now you're all festive and can have company over! if you make one let me know and show me a pic! i would love to see your creation!
comments closed

organizing and mini me haircut

most of my day was spent between the kids and organzing my fabric. we had a great day of cleaning and playing...

i tried to get a good picture of her hair but she kept moving and when she would see the camera she would instantly make a cheesy smile and say "eese" (her version of "cheese") you can sort of see the layers on the back. i'm pretty darn proud cause with three older brothers and a husband that i've been cutting hair for for over 10 years now, a girl hair cut can be quite a different experience. i was pretty sure she was going to come out looking like a soldier herself. thankfully that didn't happen.
my kids did exceptionally well today (well, there was no blood). and i even had a couple of " i love my life" moments. which were then quickly thrown back into reality when the the two little ones started fighting over something, or when the little one told me she had pooped in the tub, or when the older boys decided it would be so cool to turn on the hose in freezing weather, but really, i love being a mom, i wouldn't change it for anything. i am especially humbled when i sit and watch them and think "someone up there thought it would be a good idea to entrust me with these little people." i sure as heck hope i'm doing alright...

grandmother's garden quilt inspiration

inspiration brought to you by flicker photos...i have no idea how to make a mosaic of my own but found this one when i hit "search" grandmother's garden quilts.
i think i may give it a go...does anyone have any advise? ps: i promise this the last post from me today...i just could help this one though, and i can't be held accountable for GI joe's lovey dovey letter so yeah, no more from this camp today!

Hijacking the blog...again

My Dearest Vanessa,

Since we’ve been separated again I have felt an emptiness that can only be explained by being apart from the woman I love so dearly. As a result, I have spent the last couple of weeks frequently thinking back to the first time I saw you. Above all else it was your smile that drew me to you and I knew at that moment that I wanted to be with you. To this day there is nothing that brings me greater happiness than to see you smile at me, whether it is for something silly that I said or because it just so happens to be one of those moments when our souls seem to connect and we are simply happy to be together. I am forever sorry that we have to be apart, but I know that the time will go quickly and we will soon be together. Then we will be able to sit on the porch and watch the sun set, or work side by side in the garden. But more than anything, I ache for the time when I can hold you in my arms, kiss you softly, and whisper in you ear that I will never leave you again.

Eternally yours,
GI Joe husband

fall cleaning...

i'm cleaning today. before i can sew and start back up on all pending projects this needs to be taken care of...
especially when one of your good friend's house ALWAYS looks like this, you kind of get inspired
the friend that everyone thinks we're related because we kind of look alike and i hung out yesterday at her house moving furniture around and taking some of her adorable bowls and plates and using them as decoration. her house is so simple i love walking into it because it just always feels like she worked her tail off to clean it. but in actuality, she's just one of those special people that doesn't clutter her house...i am not one of those people, if there is an open space i have furniture that will replace it, if there is a table of a shelf i put nick knacks on it. controlled chaos with a purpose i call it. but anyways the inspiration is there and organizing continues at my house.

i was going to tell you about my "technically i did not lie to my children" story, but the little one is currently in hysterics because i wont let her sit on top of the keyboard while i type so that will have to wait for another time. maybe later today like around midnight when i finally don't have someone constantly needing me, that's when i do my best work other than mommy work anyways.

this is the tutorial that i am going to show you come monday. i'll show you the easiest form of applique, there are many techniques but i'm all about fast and easy and inexpensive. so come back then! have a good weekend!