Elephant Quilt completed - FINALLY

 I'm sharing this post today with Somewhat Simple - Strut Your Stuff Thursday

Well - I have finally finished the elephant quilt for my niece.  I hung out at  Charming Chatter
yesterday to hang out with some wonderful/talented sewers for the Spring Sewing Party..whew..so much to learn so much to try - Thank You ladies for showing your ideas and ALL that talent..Go on by and check it out for yourself - all the participates are listed with their fun work....

But here is that quilt for my niece - if you are checking out my blog Julie - it's coming your way....Love Ya

 Here is the quilt hanging in my Niece's house - she has done such a great job with the accessories below..It's so fun for a young Mother with her two boys!!!

Spring Sewing Party

 I have a few things to do this morning, but I'm going to participate in the

Spring Sewing Party
come over and see what others are working on

Also be sure to head over to Mustard Seed Creations 

She's giving stuff away...

UPDATE:
It is now 5:30  I have some quilting done,but not much - I forgot I had scheduled a manicure and pedicure for 2:00...argggg..will I never get to just sew...I guess I'll be Party ing into the night...but I do enjoy a good mani and pedi...

 

 

I have to get my vacuuming done so that I can sew...

But my project is just waiting for me..My niece wants an elephant wall hanging for her new home - I of course volunteered to help her out - she hasn't seen it (shhhh) sure hope she likes it.  Would love to finish it today and get it the mail so she can enjoy it - OR - hide it in a closet HAHA...
I got the pattern for the elephant at AJ Quilts  go over and see her site - she is so talented!

 

it's all pinned and ready to quilt - so I don't have lots left to do

Well let me get back to my vacuuming so I can get started..I'll post more as the day goes on...

Walkway Re-do

I don't have before pictures, but I love my parents new walkway so much I thought I'd share it with you today!!

It was just plain cement when they began - I wanted to use my acid for the concrete, but they live in Montana and when I went for a visit there was not enough time to order and do the work...SO..they went to a home show and found this product and decided to have the walkway redone..I think it is beautiful!!

 

  

I'm  heading over to Design-Aholic to post what I am most proud of  from this last weeks posting

 Design-Aholic

Come on over and tell us what you are proud of!!! 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Beaded Pictures

I must say my Mother is truly my inspiration for all my creativity.  She has always tried (and perfected ) so many different crafts throughout her life.  She is 82 now and is still doing remarkable things - with that I want to share with you the fabulous beaded pictures she is currently 'into'...

I love poppies and when my Mother heard she painted me a picture (not shown) and then she found this canvass and did it all in beads....She has made numerous pictures - what you see here are the ones I have received

My Mom finds printed canvasses and uses ALL beads rather than floss or yarn..Let me give you a closer look...

This picture took 40,104 beads and took her 400 hours to complete - can you see the beads?? here let me get closer
Isn't it incredible?  It sits on an easel in my living room - certainly is the visual point in that room...

We have a place at the 'Rivah' - my Mom decided that I should have a print for there also...check this out..

 

Isn't it fun...again let me get a bit closer 
This one has ONLY 26,740 beads and took approximately 180 hours...Just counting the beads and hours is more than I could do....

We just celebrated my Dad's 90th Birthday in December and my Mother decided that she should have gifts for her granddaughters and granddaughters in-law ..guess what that may be???  Yup more beaded pictures

 

they were all thrilled...  She also let us all  pick 2 pieces of jewelry that she had made...where does she get the energy- we have never figured it out..

Note:  all the painting behind the girls were done by her over the years...whew!!

Here's Mom - she is truly incredible!!!

 

I hope you enjoyed seeing her fabulous handiwork!...I'm sure I will share more as time goes on...

 You HAVE to go visit My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday to see what she is up to...fabulous

My Romantic Home

On Thursday I went over to Rose Colored Glasses - Thankful Thursday

to say how Thankful I am for my Mom..  Go on by and tell us what you are Thankful for

Dinner at the 'Rivah'

I wanted to participate in the Tablescape Thursday over at Between Naps on the Porch


We have a place at the 'Rivah' .The Rivah place has been in my husbands family since 1953, and has just been passed down to him. There are many things that we would like to do at the cottage in the next few years - what fun - I hope you will enjoy seeing the changes we will make over time!  BUT for today i just wanted to give you a little glimpse of the cottage with my simple tablescape.

I'm really getting ready for summer to be here so we can sit around the table and watch the 'Rivah'

I LOVE Quilting

Have I mentioned this before??? I LOVE quilting - I decided today was the day to show you !!! This quilt I made for my son as a wedding gift.  It has 2 1/2" squares throughout - whew...that took me forever to do...I had asked him to look at some of my quilting magazine/books to see what he might like in the event I could get one done for their wedding ;-)...I had already began working on this quilt and wanted to see if he would pick it..WELL - he did!!!! - but he said "I'd love this one but would never ask you to make something with this much work"...WOW - that was great since the work was already in progress!  Guess he is my son!!!!

Another quilt that they received for a wedding gift was made by my Grandmother - she made a quilt for all her Great Grandchildren before she died to be given to them when they married - It was very sweet when he opened that gift, because when he saw who it was from he was at first confused - and then emotional..Grandnanny would have loved the reaction and how much he appreciated her hard work and love. Behind Adam is his bride Aprill and she is looking at some hand towels that my Grandmother had also made. It was very special

Come on over to My Country Home and see Whatcha Working on Wednesday  

My Country Home

Plywood is the New Hard Wood

Since I showed my daughter's Cement floors yesterday I wanted to complete the "FLOOR" tour and let you know what we did to the rest of her townhouse floors. Someone asked me if my daughter knew what I was going to do while they were gone - WELL ...every summer for the past 3 years when they go on vacation I take over their home and 'do stuff'...They have an idea, but they give me full reign to do as I please - it makes it easier for me and it is so fun for them when they come home - kinda like being on one of those makeover shows on HGTV!! Well, maybe not quite the results, but hey - we all think it's fun!!!

As I said before her carpets were very worn OUT - and we had to find a solution rather than re-carpet..So we pulled the carpet from the stairs first and tested my theory that Plywood could become Hard Wood - Isn't plywood hard???? and wood???? When we pulled the carpet the stairs were in pretty good shape - So I bought some porch paint and away I went  and here is the result:

I used a high gloss paint - they really are very shiny..

From here we thought we were in luck so why not pull ALL the carpet throughout the house and finish up!!!

So here is glimpse of the hallway (note the carpet NOT pulled from the first bedroom - you get the worn out carpet statement! )  From here we went into the boys' rooms - I did their floors and the walls -

 

I did gray on both floors but the one really looks blue - I then followed up with the walls..The boys really seemed to like it..as you can see the floor does show the plywood 'squares' but when they got the beds, furniture, and rugs in place it really isn't noticeable...REALLY..

I'm going to go hang out at couple other sites - come join me and see what others are up to

Trash to Treasure Tuesday at  Reinvented
Do it yourself Day - A Soft Place to Land

for Three or More Tuesday  The Gypsys Corner
Talented Tuesday at  My Frugal Family

leave a message and say hi!!

Cement floor make over

My daughter has 4 boys and a significant other - well - you can just imagine the messes they can make - whew...her carpet in her townhouse was getting a bit worn!  I once again did some research to see what I could do to the cement rather than her re-carpeting.  I found a site for using acid concrete stain,  Direct Colors, and decided that was the way to go.  When Carrie (daughter) and her family went on vacation I made myself at home and re-did the floors - it was quite an endeavor since the concrete had to be clean of all paint, dirt, etc - and if you have seen a concrete floor before they lay carpet you know what I mean.  Here are a few photos of the process - I have enough of the acid left that I hope to do my garage floor this Spring..FUN!!!

Here is the cleaning stage!!

Now we are onto the application of the stain

Not too pretty yet huh?

 

Last look before the big reveal!!!!

Here is the final results!  

  

see how shiny it is...

It's lighter here - but you get the idea.   The floor has been great for Carrie and the boys as it just takes a quick mopping - she uses mop and glow to keep the shine up..

She thought it might be too cold for the boys, but it really isn't bad -she does keep a carpet in the main part for if/when the boys want to sit on the floor.  

It was alot of work but I had such a great time doing it...

I'm participating in

Metamorphosis Monday - go on over to  Between Naps on the Porch 

and see what others have done!!  

and

Make it for Monday at  Cottage Instincts

and

The DIY Showoff

 

Don't forget to leave a comment - they love to know you stopped by to visit!

Call me CRAZY!!!

What I am about to tell you will surly make you call me CRAZY  -- I wanted to paint our house and my Dear Husband thought we could handle doing the painting ourselves...What he really meant was - I could do the painting!!!  AND I agreed....I know our neighbors thought I was CRAZY when they would drive by and see me on rooftops, extension ladders etc...Last BUT not least - It took FOUR (4) coats to cover the green - YIKES..it took me all summer.  I must admit I did have someone come and do the high parts on the ends - other than that I was the Painter - I was even out there painting on my birthday!  But really - I kinda enjoyed it - the weather was fabulous most the time and I really got a chance to be outside and listen to birds and other creatures..It was quite an adventure...

 

 

Do you think the yellow is better than the green?

Fireplace Re-DO - CRAZY?? CREATIVE???

I wanted to share some of the things I've done in the past around the house!  I was not fond of the red brick on our family room fireplace and decided to change it.  After much research I found a product called Brick Anew  ...it was easy and fun to do - give it a try if you are looking to change your brick!  Here are the before and after photos...

One thing yet to do - I keep looking for an old mantle to add to the fireplace - one day I'll find the right one - I'll share that with you when I do...

so what do you think??? Looking for the good the bad and the  ugly (?) feedback...  Any suggestions on the mantle?

I am joining  Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/. Please be sure and check out the others who have linked to this party and leave a comment so they will know you came by.

Thanks for stopping by - looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Don't you love a nice glass of wine while watching the sun go down?

It was hard to decide what to do for this first posting - I have so much I want to share with you and get your ideas and feedback... - I decided to just pick a photo and make sure I knew how this whole thing works!!! This photo was taken last April while we were in Florida. I love photography and wish I were better at it (this would be the 'ugly' part that I will work on)....My son is a great amateur photographer - I'll add some of his photos over time so you can see what I mean... I hope your day is filled with peace and joy and NOT so much CRAZINESS!!! Let's save that for another day :-)