Project Organized Home~Ottoman repair!

Well, here it is Friday again! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend, and I hope this weekend will be a great one for you as well! I didn't get around to those throw pillows yet this week, but I did find a use for some more of that fabric I got such a great deal on! I had an ottoman that the kids had just destroyed the top on. Not only was it ripped in several places, but since it's microfiber and virtually impossible to clean, there was a lot of stains from spills on it. I didn't want to junk it, because it's a storage ottoman, and the inside is pristine! Plus, it cost me $100 when we bought it, and I want to keep it around for as long as possible! So, this was a perfect chance to combine frugality and decorating. Now I have a new ottoman again, and it matches my curtains, so it's really tying the room together!

I should have smoothed the microfiber out before I took the picture...the bottom isn't dirty, it's just the way the fibers are laying. :) It's just so nice to have a beautiful colorful ottoman! It's much prettier than it was brand new! I just took the top off, which wasn't easy, since it has not only the hinges, but shocks, so little fingers don't get pinched when opening and shutting the top. And then I went right over the fabric that was already there. I do that whenever possible to make recovering as easy as possible! ;)

I moved all our front room furniture around, and now I have my favorite chairs in front of the window. There is a coffee table, then the burgundy couch is facing the chairs. The ottoman sits behind the couch, in the dining room space; so it ties both rooms together since it matches the curtains! I will be smiling so big when I finally get the throw pillows made! I have so many projects I am trying to finish up before we start the new homeschooling year next month! Hopefully, with God's strength and grace, I can get a good part of them done!

Project Organized Home

Well, I was recently blessed on another trip to our local Mission Center Thrift Store! I got over 7 yards of high quality interior decor fabric for only $2! I wasn't even real sure what I would use it for, I just knew it was too good of a deal to pass up. When I got home, I realized just HOW good of a deal it was. Even though it is YEARS old, the tag was still on it, and it originally sold for $24 a yard! It's got Scotchguard on it, and it's so thick and shiny. It's really nice stuff! I've really been wanting to make some new curtains for the front room, but I had been looking for some quilty looking fabric. I decided that this would work well though, because it's so bright and cheerful! I really need that in the front room with it's dismal paneling. Since my husband wasn't too thrilled about the floral pattern, and preferred to keep our burgundy curtains up, I decided to compromise and have both! :) .....It works really well too, because our couch and two swivel chairs are burgundy as well. So I am going to make throw pillows out of this same floral fabric for them. It will tie the whole room together, and brighten it up at the same time! I'm excited to have it all done! Pictures just don't do justice, but this fabric is so shiny and expensive looking!...all for $2, because I even had matching thread on hand! Thank you Lord! :0)

Now, on to throw pillows! That shouldn't cost too much either, because I have the pillows from the bench in our house in Georgia that I made still. They don't match anything here, and I contemplated giving them away. I can just open them up, and rob the clusterfill out of them!! YAY!

Women In The Word Wednesday~The Vine

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5

Mid Spring Pics!

Do you remember that picture I showed you, of my peonies starting to pop up out of the ground?! Well, just look at them now!!

I love this one, you can see a wasp and an ant crawling on the bloom. Peonies are loved by many people and insects!!
Just gorgeous blooms, aren't they?!

The color of these are striking! There are actually 3 bushes with this dark pink color!

I love the contrast to the VERY blue skies!

Here's some pictures of just a few of the pots I have planted. This one has purple heart, begonias and more!

Geraniums and begonias!

Impatients, double impatients and vinca vine!

We are going to make a neat little seating area here inventually. So far, all I've gotten accomplished, is some weeding, two hostas planted, and the bench painted. One step at a time! We will either have mulch, or rock here in the future, along with a border of some kind.

My morning glories are starting to grow really well! I didn't want to go through the hassle of starting them inside, so instead, I soaked them in water and paper towels for two days, and then planted them in the ground. I can't wait till they are all over the fence, and opening their "glory" every morning!!! These are some of my favorite annuals!

What fun spring can be! I can't wait to show you some more pictures as more things fill out!

eBook Giveway!

I read this today, and just had to share! Click HERE to read about it and if you want, enter the giveaway yourself. I love the book so much, I will probably buy it as soon as I can even if I don't win the giveaway. I love my children so much, and give my all everyday to raise them the best I can, and to train them according to God's principals. One of the most important things to do for them, is to pray for them! I have to admit that I am NOT completely faithful in this area. I don't pray for them nearly as often and as deeply and sincerely as I should. This book brings new compassion and new ideas for how to pray for your children, and I can't wait to read the whole thing! I pray I will be able to do a better job at praying for my sons, and my daughters....it's so important that I do!

Move It Monday

Hello! It's good to know some of you are still stopping by, in the midst of my completely sporadic posting! ;) It's amazing how a move across the country can change so many things. I find myself different physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually from this journey. Some good, some not so good. It's been almost 6 months, and I still don't feel completely settled in to our new home and environment. Maybe one day..

Well, despite how awful I feel today physically, I am still hoping to get a few things done. At least two loads of laundry, some more organization in the laundry room, and vacuum the floor in there too. Tomorrow, I'd like to get my desk, and the kid's school desk cleared off and organized better too. I have a lot of organization plans for July. It looks like that will be our only month off of school this year. It took us while to catch up from the 2 1/2 months we took off for the move. We see the finish line though, and it's exciting! Have a great week!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

To all you precious mothers out there, thank you for your countless daily sacrifices and endless unconditional love for your children! The hand that rocks the cradle, truly rules the world! One diaper at a time, one dish, one meal, one load of laundry, one bedtime story, one ponytail, one shoelace, and one heart to heart talk at a time; you are changing the lives of your little blessings forever! You are molding them into beautiful hearts and creative minds that will change our world, and hopefully, have children of their own one day! Their is no greater gift given by God, and their isn't a more important job in this world, than being a mother!

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Fitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last weeks mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I see then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile!

Thank you God, for giving me the blessing of being a mother!! :)

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

Project Organized Home~Inspirational Frame Art~

I wish I had gotten a better picture, but I am loving these! I found the frames at a thrift store for $2. They are solid ceramic, and so pretty! I used a simple computer program and made the artwork to go in them. It says J O Y and each has it's own meaning. To have true joy, we must have our priorities in order! J for Jesus first, O for Others second, and Y for Yourself last. I also put a scripture verse that coincides with each thought. They add so much spring color to the room, and are a great reminder of our priorities! If I keep my eyes open, there are always cheap ways to organize, decorate, and make the home a brighter happier place! :)

Fun With Our Lilac Bush!

Spring Has Sprung!!!

Project Organized Home~ Exterior Painting

Well, you may have noticed my lack of posting, but let me explain why! We have been so busy trying to make this new house a home. That's harder to do when you are renting, but we have a wonderful landlord! He and his wife, have really been giving us a lot of freedom to make changes to suit our family. He has been paying for paint (of my color choice) on the inside of the house, and just recently, he bought us a bunch of paint for the outside. He let me chose my color here too, and I am just thrilled as I see the color going up on the house! This is how bad it was looking before we started scraping and painting... You can see that it's quite the change, from looking at the bit of blue that we had done in the photo! And below is how it looks currently! Amazing transformation, isn't it?! We have only just begun too. We still have the top trim to do, some caulking to put on, and then another coat of paint. We haven't touched the east and north sides yet either. But pulling up to this, is really encouraging us to keep going! I can just imagine how beautiful it will be when we are done, and I have flowers blooming all over, in the ground and in my pots and baskets!!! YAY!