Name Sign

New Years Eve has been spent working on projects in the Elgin house.  Nick has been off work all week and has been working on organizing the garage.  I have been busy with other projects.  Earlier in the week I went shopping in Louisville with my mom, aunt, sisters and my niece.  One of the places we went to was Dee's Crafts, and if you're in the Louisville area, it's a great store to visit.  This is what I started with...

There are five smaller frames within the larger one, and it's designed so that the smaller frames hang below the larger board.  I did a little alteration.  But first came the paint.  Because it was raw wood, it took 2 coats of paint.  I decided I'd try some paint I bought this summer that I wasn't happy with.  The name of the paint is Pavement, but it looks more brown than black.  And once again, aftetr 2 coats I wasn't happy with the color.  So, on a trip to Lowes last night, I got a sample pot of Valspar paint, in Cracked Pepper.  If you've never used the sample pots, you should!  It's a really inexpensive way to get project paint.

You can kind of see the color difference in the picture.  The one on the left is the Cracked Pepper paint that actually looks black.  So that was the color of choice.  After the paint was finally right, I cut pieces of scrapbook paper to fit the back of the frames. 

I used scrapbooking paper, in five different patterns, and then used Mod Podge to attach it.  You could certainly do without affixing the paper to the backing of the frames, but I wanted it to look nice and tight. 

After I got all the backs done, I cut out the letters of out name from black paper with my Cricut.

I attempted to use the Mod Podge on the letters too, but I found out quickly that my regular old scrapbooking glue worked better for that.  Once all the letters were attached, I put the backs on the frames.

Next, the really tricky part began.  The back of the large frame needed covered too but I didn't have big enough paper to do it with one page.  I wasn't thrilled about having to seam the paper, but thanks to my paper cutter and Mod Podge it actually turned out ok.  I laid the paper one piece at a time and butted the other page up to the edge tight before I put the rest down.

The only thing left to do then was put it all together and hang it.  I used clear 3M hooks because I knew if I asked my husband to hang it permenantly he'd fuss.  But the hooks work for now.

Happy New Year!

I'm linking to...

Make It Yours Day @ My Backyard Eden

Inspiring Creativity @ Dragonfly Designs

Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple

A Crafty Soiree @ Yesterday on Tuesday

Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative

All About You Monday @ Texas Monkey

Oh Christmas Tree

I have finally gotten my tree put up.  Thanks to the ice that's covering pretty much everything, Christmas break came a couple of days early.  Our puppy sometimes can't help herself when it comes to getting into things that she shouldn't, so I didn't trust her with my precious ornaments, or the presents that have been wrapped.  Some days, being unsupervised for several hours gets Abby into trouble.

Putting up the Christmas tree has been one of the best parts of the holiday season.  Our family has some great traditions, and one of my favorites is that every year since my sisters and I were born, our parents have bought us a Christmas ornament.  Even after two of us have gotten married, we still get ornaments.  Many of them, especially since we've gotten older, represent major milestones in our lives.  Mom found one of my favorites the first Christmas that Nick and I were engaged...

I search for weeks to find an ornament for Nick and my first married Christmas, and I couldn't find one that was "just right".  My friend, Amy, got us one for a wedding gift, and it was perfect.  Amy knows my tastes after so much time spent together in college.

And finally, Nick's favorite ornament is one that we bought at the Christmas Shop at Holiday World when we took my youngest sister and some of her friends.  It's hand-blown glass with webs of glass inside.

Here's a shot of the finished tree.  Please excuse the Directv in the background.  Nick doesn't enjoy putting the tree up quite as much as I do.

The last accomplishment for the day was getting our Christmas picture taken.  My parents very kindly stopped by to take the photo since I couldn't figure out the self-timer on my camera and couldn't find the manual.  We had to hang out for a few minutes to give Abby time to calm down from seeing her grandparents, but she finally got ahold of herself and sat for the photo.

Happy Holidays dear readers!

Christmas Wreath and Decorations

In my family, the Christmas season starts the day after Thanksgiving.  We don't go Black Friday shopping, we put up the Christmas tree.  Last year, Nick and I went out the Monday after Thanksgiving and bought our Christmas tree.  Nick's allergic to real trees, but we got a great artificial.  While I would love to continue our tradition this year, we have our dog this year and I don't trust her not to chew up our tree, so it has to wait a couple weeks until I'm on Christmas break.

I did get some decorating done today though.  With my Mom's help, we made a wreath for my newly painted front door.  I went to Hobby Lobby during an early Black Friday sale and got the makings for my wreath 50% off.  I got some shatter-proof ornaments and wired 3 together.

Then, we put them where we wanted them on the wreath and wired them in.

Then Mom made a big gold bow for the top and I wired a loop onto the back so I could hang it on my door.  My husband REFUSED to put a screw into our door, but I did get him to hang a small hook on the wooden part of the window so I can change wreaths frequently.  I'm totally in love with the finished product.

I LOVE the colors against the black door.  I also got my husband to hang icicle lights along the front of the house, although he wasn't thrilled about it.  But when it got dark enough for the lights to come on, he too liked it, and now he wants to go raid my parents' barn for the white lawn deer that they no longer use.  I took some pictures when the lights came on and I'm pretty happy with the outside decorations...

I have started decorating a little bit inside as well.  Mom and I also made a swag to hang above the door that goes into our dining room.  I got those things when I went to the Hobby Lobby sale as well.

It doesn't show in the picture but the elements in the swag are glittery.  It matches my green/gold/brown Christmas decorating scheme...a lot of which are leftover wedding decorations.  And the last thing I did today was hang this wreath inside that Nick got me at Home Goods.  It's a little off-center so I'll have to fix that tomorrow.

The lighting in the picture's kind of bad because I was too lazy to change camera lenses.  It's gold accents on the wreath instead of silver.  Lots more decorations to come.  Stay tuned....



Lucky Linky Tuesday @ Lucky Star Lane

Toot Your Own Horn Tuesday @ Silly Little Sparrow

Make It Yours Day @ My Backyard Eden

Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple

A Crafty Soiree @ Yesterday on Tuesday

Passion for Paint @ Mural Maker & More

 Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table and Dreaming

Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative

Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple

Make It 4 Monday @ Cottage Instincts
All About You Monday @ Texas Monkey

One Year Ago

A year ago today, my life changed forever.  I always feel like that phrase has a negative connotation, but in this case, it was a wonderful thing.  I woke up a year ago today from a restless night of very little sleep.  I was tired and didn't really want to get out of bed, despite the long list of things I had to do, and an appointment to get to.  I went through my morning ritual of putting in my contacts and brushing my teeth.  I went down the stairs of my parents house for probably the last time, and it was bittersweet.  That was the home I'd gone back to in college, where I  had spent my high school years, and it was filled with happy memories, and I had just spent my last night there.  When I got to the kitchen, my Mom didn't say much.  She just hugged me a little longer than normal, and went about her business.

By 9:30, I was sitting in the hair salon, watching my sisters have their hair styled and curled, then my Mom, and my friend Rhonda.  My fiance's mother showed up with containers of food left over from the night before  Then it was my turn.  I hadn't stressed about this decision.  In fact, there wasn't a lot leading up to that moment that I actually had stressed about. 

When it was finished my hair was done, and my veil was in place.  I remember playing with the crystals that hung off the edges of it.  I wasn't really nervous, just ready for 4:30 to arrive.  We made it to the church, bags, dresses, and make-up in tow.  It was a beautiful day!  We set up shop in our designated area in the church and started the long process of make-up application and dressing.



The time finally arrived.  Pictures were finished, and the church was filled with people.  I teach high school...I stand in front of people every day.  But when I heard them setting up extra chairs, I started getting nervous.  But when the appropriate music played, I walked with my Dad down the long aisle, trying to keep my skinny heel from dropping into a hole in the decorative metal grate half way down.

I don't remember much about the actual ceremony.  I do remember thinking that those vows Nick and I had put together seemed like a lot better idea four weeks ago when I gave them to our pastor.  At that moment they seemed like they were ten years long.

When it was all said and done, I had become Mrs. Elgin.  Months of plannings and preperations had come together in one beautiful, perfect day.  I loved the wedding process, and I loved our wedding day.  It was the beginning of an amazing year.  We've accomplished a lot, and have lots more planned. 



One year ago today, I married my best friend. 

Gearing Up for Being Thankful

It's T minus 3 days to Turkey Day!  I'm excited to be able to open up my home to my extended family, and even more excited that I have a family that gets together every chance we get.  I'll admit that I've been freaking out a little wondering how I was going to get all the cleaning done that I wanted to get done.  My cabinet doors could use a good scrub down with Murphy's Oil Soap, my off-white carpet could stand to have the dog stains shampooed out of it, and the console table that Abby's chewed up mocks me every time I walk into the living room.  And while I will have time to clean on Wednesday I decided it's more important to take my sister to get an outfit for honors ceremony at school.  It occurred to me that my family isn't really going to care if my cabinet doors aren't cleaned, and the carpets aren't going to get shampooed.  But there is a new console table in the garage waiting for my husband to assemble.  I can't completely get rid of my OCD tendencies. 

So with all the festivities of the next few days, I thought I'd take a few minutes to list some of the things I'm thankful for.  I try to do this in some form, either written or in my head, every year.  So this year I'll share then with you...in no particular order...

1.  My husband.  He is awesome.  It took awhile to find him, but it was definitely worth the wait.  He's supportive, loving, encouraging, and he makes me laugh all the time.  He does whatever he can to make me happy, and keeps me grounded all at the same time.

2.  My parents.  I don't even know if I can express in words how amazing my parents are.  They sacrificed a lot while my sisters and I were growing up so that we would know what it was like to get to take vacations, and go on mission trips with the youth group.  They went without new things so we could have new things.  They always made (and still do) a huge deal out of birthdays, and holidays, and pulled off some pretty cool surprises (like restoring my 1970 VW Bug while I was away on a church trip).  And I was lucky enough to have parents that are still married.  It never occurred to me that it was weird not have step parents until I started teaching.

3.  My sisters (and brother-in-law).  My sisters are my best friends.  They are always around to lend a shoulder, and ear, or to share a laugh.  We have the best memories growing up and it's fantastic that we live close enough to see each other all the time!

4.  My nieces and nephews crack me up!!  My newest niece is perfect.  She's a little miracle in 6-pound form, and my sister and brother-in-law are doing so awesome having a new baby in their lives.  My other nieces and nephews were inherited with marriage and I love them dearly.  Being an aunt is a huge blessing, and I think that if Nick and I never had children of our own, it would be a fantastic alternative to spoil our nieces and nephews rotten.

5. Family & Friends just make my life complete.  I have the most amazing group of friends and my extended family is awesome.  I ADORE all my cousins (even the one that used to chase me down on his mini-bike and put nasty stuff in my drinks).  Talking to them makes me smile. 

6.  My job for all kinds of reasons.  It's something I love, and it's very humbling sometimes when you hear about the things students have to deal with at such a young age.  Some of them face hardships and adversities I can't imagine going through as an adult, much less a kid.  It's a reminder of how blessed and lucky I've been.

7.  And finally, I'm thankful that God has blessed me with a billion little things that I can't possibly mention.  Having a beautiful home, and a pantry full of food.  Money to pay bills and have some fun now and then.  An education, and the freedoms that others have fought to give me.

Thanksgiving begins my absolute favorite time of year.  I would encourage you to list your blessings too.  It's an overwhelming feeling to SEE how God works.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Great Big Blessed Week

I was in the middle of reading during our school-wide SSR time on Monday when I got a phone call from my sister saying that she was going to be induced that afternoon.  My sweet little niece would soon make her appearance into the world.  It took a lot of hours sitting in a hospital waiting room, and with my sister in her labor and delivery room, but she finally made arrived on Tuesday afternoon.  And let me tell you, everybody told me how great being an aunt is, and they were right!  I inherited 2 nieces and 2 nephews when I married Nick, but they weren't babies, and while I love them dearly it's just not the same.  She is such a little miracle! 

Abby also passed her first course in puppy class.  She got her picture taken with a little graduation hat on (which I really want a copy of) and she got a little certificate of achievement that is currently hanging on the fridge.  I took her down the toy aisle at PetSmart and let her pick out a toy as a graduation present.  I don't think she knows exactly what she did, but she knows it's good and that she's very proud of herself.

A Little Preview

It's been a busy few weeks!  Now that I'm spending my days with my high school students instead of with my dog and my projects, time is flying by.  I'm also enrolled in an 18 month Masters program, and that is seriously taking away from my project time.  I'm doing good to keep my husband in clean shirts and have dinner cooked.  We've had an out of town wedding to go to about three weeks ago, and a garage to clean last week, and puppy classes for our little beastie, Abby, every Sunday morning.  My church probably thinks I've disappeared off the face of the Earth.  I'm also slowly doing random cleaning in preparation for hosting my first Thanksgiving dinner.

I did have Fall Break a couple of weeks ago, and I started another painting project.  It's not TOTALLY finished yet, but I'll share a little sneek peek.

This is what our house looked like in the spring.  When we moved in, our front door and garage door were both white, and the shutters a darker shade of beige than the siding.  I painted the door red for lack of any better ideas, but I never really fell in love with it.  I took inspiration from a house I pass going to and from work every day, and after several months of pondering, I made a trip to the local Porter paint store and bought a gallon of Black Magic paint.

I still have to do a little touching up, but here's a preview...

Hopefully I'll have it finished and post the final product in a day or two!

Pottery Barn Inspired Lantern

I found these lanterns sitting in my parents barn.  I love going to snoop through the barn.  There's always something interesting out there. 

I've been seeing black lanterns all over the place in stores lately...Ikea...William Sonoma Home...and POTTERY BARN!  These looked a little rough but it wasn't anything a good cleaning and some black spraypaint wouldn't fix.  I actually painted these over the summer and I hadn't really found anything to do with them yet...until...Mom was showing me the newest Pottery Barn catalogue.  I saw this....



The smallest one has acorns in it.  The smallest one is also $29.00 (the largest is $99.00).  Today, my friend and coworker went to a local orchard store after work so I could buy persimmon pulp.  While I was there, I happened to notice the HUGE bin of mixed nuts in their shells.  They were perfect.  $7.00 worth of mixed nuts later I was out the door. 

I came home and sat up shop on my usual workbench...our chest freeer in the garage.  I couldn't use my husband's workbench right now even if he would let me.  It's covered with trellis pieces (yes, I'm still waiting on that).  Years of barn filth isn't easy to clean up, and this was round 2 of the cleaning process.  I cleaned the inside with my Dyson handheld and cleaned the glass.

The pillar candle I had is kind of nasty.  I'll be buying a new one ASAP...as well as one to go in the other matching lantern.  After it was cleaned, I put the candle in and added some mixed nuts around the base.  Luckily, there's enough for lantern #2.

And now it's in it's new home in our living room.  I just hope the little turd we call our dog leaves it alone. 

I'm posting to the following parties:

Lucky Linky Tuesday @ Lucky Star Lane

Toot Your Own Horn Tuesday @ Silly Little Sparrow

Make It Yours Day @ My Backyard Eden

Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans

Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple

A Crafty Soiree @ Yesterday on Tuesday
Get Your Craft On Thursday @ Life As Lori

Passion for Paint @ Mural Maker & More

 Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table and Dreaming

Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative

Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple

Make It 4 Monday @ Cottage Instincts
All About You Monday @ Texas Monkey

Fall Wreath

A few weeks ago at Walmart I took a pass through the seasonal aisle and found some things that I thought would be pretty in a wreath.  Of course I have never made a wreath but I figured it couldn't be too difficult.  I cleared off my dining room table, plugged in the old hot glue gun, and spread out the stuff. 

I started randomly cutting off flowers from the clumps, and berries, and leaves and glueing them to the wreath in a cluster.

One I finished, I wired a loop to the back, and hung it on my front door!  It was actually A LOT easier than I thought it would be, and I have quite a bit left over for some other project.

Please excuse the chipped paint on the door.  Repainting the front door, shutters, and garage door is on my list of things to do over Fall Break in a couple of weeks.

Sugar and Spice and a Bunch of Other Stuff

One of the best Christmas presents I got last year was from my sister-in-law, Andrea.  She got us the box of spices called Spicy Wedding from a place called Penzeys.  I'd never heard of it before.  I have to say, I LOVE the stuff!!  My favorites are the Chinese Cassia Cinnamon and the Pasta Sprinkle.  I use the cinnamon in everything, and I put the Pasta Sprinkle in hamburger when I'm cooking Italian food. 



I'd looked at the online store before, and there was all sorts of things I'd have liked to try.  On her most recent trip to Ohio, Andrea got me some vanilla extract and some poppy seeds.  Both of those were equally wonderful.  Imagine my surprise to learn there's a Penzey store in Indanapolis.  This weekend, I went to Indianapolis for my niece's 4th birthday party.  My mother-in-law went with me, and we left early enough to do some shopping, Penzey store included.

This place is AMAZING.  There are things in that store I'd never even heard of!  And I went a little crazy getting things to try.  But I do try to incorporate a lot of different kinds of spices into my cooking.  I always see the people of Food Network using spices and think that I could do that too.

The store itself is pretty cool.  They have jars full of all their spices so you can sniff them and see what you think.  The extracts all smell wonderful.  Next time you're in the Castleton area, make the trip down 82nd Street to Penzeys.  I already have a whole list of things I'd like to try, extracts included.  One of them is also the Sunny Paris.  I don't know what is in it, but it smelled like nothing I'd never smelled.  It was also like $9 for a small jar...I focused on cheaper spices this time.