Flowers & Craft Space

Flowers, flowers, flowers... so many flowers in our yard. I'm loving it. Some that we planted in pots, others that we woke up to one morning- they literally just appear and disappear  (planted by past renters). I had no idea that I would enjoy "gardening" of sorts. Never had an interest in it, never the least bit intrigued- until now. And, I love it! I must clarify though; I'm not sure I would call it true gardening. Yes, there's dirt, gloves, shovels- but nothing like my impressive neighbors who seriously work magic in their yards. It's more like a number of potted plants and veggies here and there and some sprinkled wild flower seeds. It's a start!  PS- I found out one of my flowers (Larkspur) is poisonous! Yikes!

'The earth laughs in flowers.'  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

In other news, I constructed a very rudimentary shelf out of a 2x8 piece of wood and L-brackets. It does the job and cost us less than $10! It was created in mind for my little craft wall in our office. Andrew has generously shared his office space with my craft craziness. It's turned out very well as it feels like we are spending time together while working on our own things in the same room. Unanticipated bonus for sure! I anticipate some changes with this wall (I need a "bill" & mail station), but it's a happy space for now and will do!

 When not at work, running errands, with family or friends... this is where you'll find me! Right where I want to be... Home ;)

T-shirt Quilts

How was everyone's weekend? I thoroughly enjoyed finally having a weekend off and getting to spend lots of much needed time with the mister. I've kind of been working like a crazy lady, picking up extra shifts each week. I hate it while I'm working so much but always say, 'that wasn't so bad' when I get my pay check. Anyway, today I bring you a special project...

All cut and positioned to show grandma my "plan/vision" for the quilt

This project has been on my to-do list for many, many months. Thanks to my amazing Grandma who sews like none other, it is now complete and made it's appearance in perfect timing for one of Andrew's Christmas presents. I must admit, she did most of the sewing work. But I did a lot of cutting, ironing, and incorrect pinning (that Grandma had to re-do...). 

Andrew has stacks and stacks of soccer t-shirts that he couldn't stand to lose, but that I couldn't stand to have sitting around. So, a manly t-shirt quilt was in the works! Plaid flannel lines the backs so that they can be either t-shirt-y or more plain and flannel-y. We've much enjoyed them so far and have kept nice and warm with their help. 

What makes my heart especially happy is that Andrew loves them.

During my Texas visit in December, I helped a bit with the finishing touches...

This quilt made use of the backs of most of his t-shirts. Lots of Adidas symbols!

Thanks for helping this project come to true life, Grandma! You're the best! 

51 year old dress

I cannot believe that Christmas is just a few short days away. Where has December gone!?!? More on that later, but today I have something very special to share with you. During my recent weekend trip to visit my 2 grandmothers in Texas, we worked on this little project together. I feel so incredibly blessed to have such amazing grandmothers and to have a strong friendship with both of them.

Today would have marked 51 years of marriage between my Grandma Barb and Granddaddy Carl. I'm sure that my Granddaddy took a break from tinkering with old cars today in Heaven to look down and just smile at his beautiful wife. Their life was far from easy. Being an Air Force family, I'm sure that my Grandma felt like a single mom much of the time. But, they persevered and built a life for themselves and their kids... and us grandkids.

I scanned in this photo of my grandma (pregnant) & granddaddy but somehow cut off their heads. I still like it! Artsy!

My sister and I were both honored to wear my Grandmother's wedding dress as our 'going away dress' at our weddings. Grandma thoughtfully wanted to put each of these pictures side by side for display. I simply helped her accomplish it.

 

Started with the originals and made copies in Black and White and Sepia. 

 

Found the right frames.

Assembled the frames and my other grandma (Mamaw) helped write the dates below. A frame for each of us. So special. 

Left to Right: Jenna and Andrew (us!), Uncle Charles and Barb (Grandma and her brother), Uncle Charles and Jordan (My sister). 

Uncle Charles was unable to be at my wedding, but how special to have this memento of each of us sharing in wearing something meaningful on such a special day.

 Thank you Grandma for this precious gift. Love you so very much. 

 Meaningful, special art is my favorite. I'm slowly compiling more meaningful pieces in our home. How about you? Anything extra special displaying in your home? Anything bring back warm, sweet memories when you walk by and see it?

Family Photo Art

While in Texas visiting my family, I had the pleasure of thumbing through tons of old photographs. My grandmother has numerous nicely organized photo boxes full of memories. The treasures I found are just that, treasures. I'm so thankful and I just can't get enough. Here's one way that I'm using these photos: creating photo art to blow up and hang on walls. 

I got to this point by realizing that most of these old photos are out of focus compared to today's standards. So- why not go with it and make "painting-like" art? That's exactly the direction I went. I'm thinking that these pieces would make for great wall art in a little boy's room (I know, I know, the amount I talk about babies and little kiddos, you'd think I was expecting- but I assure you, I'm not).  I still might hang some of my new "art" in the guest room. When I get the art up, I'll post an update!

Each of these are photographs of my father as a little boy. I edited them in photoshop by utilizing a few of the artistic tools. 

Before

After

 ____________________

 Before

 After

____________________

 Before

 After

PS- I'm heading back to Oregon today. Had a great visit in Texas and got my fill of good sweet tea for a while! 

PPS- Please keep praying for baby Hayley. She had an MRI last night to further evaluate for brain damage.

Welcome. | Guest Room/Office

 

 

Welcome to our little guest room/office/everything random room. It serves us well when guests come to stay (like the hopeful interviewing medical-students who start coming this week), and when friends and family members are in town. It also serves as Andrew's office (behind where I'm standing to photograph is a large desk). It isn't anything grandiose or extra special. It currently has a playful, young look to it. Regardless, it is home to some special finds such as: 

Our trash to treasure refurbished chairs

Andrew's childhood Airplanes made into a mobile

Animal prints from a Portland antique store

Lavender from Portland Wednesday Market

 My childhood Mirror/Canvas piece (explained below) & childhood dresser

If you missed the post of our living room area, here it is. A few things have changed since then... 

 

Planning to make a burlap flag bunting to replace the current flags that don't match anything in the room (from this baby shower).

This mirror/canvas piece has lived it up starting out as a lime green & pink floral piece (I don't have a pic) that came with my parent's house when they purchased it. It then transformed into an 8th grade masterpiece. Yes- Stary Night with red trim. Lovely right? In my middle school eyes, this beauty was quite the accomplishment. It then resided in my folk's garage for many years until now. Welcome to our little apartment big guy. A little bit of greyish paint trim and chalkboard spray paint later and I'd say it fits in quite nicely. Okay, you caught me. As you'll see below, it took me a while to say goodbye to my Stary Night masterpiece. Alas, it has passed and a chalkboard with endless possibilities is present. The paint job sure isn't the cleanest, but that can be easily fixed another day. 

 

Stary Night and red paint... goes perfectly together right? Ha, I think I ran out of other colors and was left with red.

Trying to let Stary Night stay...

In progress photo

Current room

 Thanks for visiting via the blog. Now you know that a quaint little bedroom awaits you (there's a trundle too for an extra sleeper). Come visit!