As Ye Sew, So Shall Ye Rip

I don't know if you can tell from the quirky title but I have begun sewing.  The "Rip" part is for all the times I had to rip out my stitches and redo a seam ;)  My mom has been sewing for as long as I can remember, I am sure long before I came along.  I had learned the sewing basics years ago and recently decided to pick up the craft again.  I am not advanced enough to begin sewing clothes but I have managed a few simple items.  I've been working on a HUGE T-shirt quilt for my husband with all his shirts from high school and college.  Right now I'm waiting for my mom to help me pick out the backing for the quilt.  In the meantime I have moved on to bags.

I have been using a Martha Stewart pattern I found on her website and the more bags I sew, the more I add my own touches.  I've even started adding lining with fabric of different patterns. 

Notice the red and black ribbon that I used as trim?!  I was very proud of myself!

 I plan on giving these out as gifts this Christmas as well as some cute zipper bags I have been working on.  I don't want to show too many images just in case some of the few lucky recipients are reading this blog.  We'll see if I can make as many as I need by the time gift giving comes around!

Happy crafting!!

Fall is Here At Last

Living in the South it always seems as if fall comes later and later each year.  This year we have been pleasantly surprised to have plenty of cool days and crisp fall nights in September and October.  We recently went to the mountains of NC with our friends for our annual fall trip.  The leaves were beautiful and the weather was great.  We have made it a tradition to stop at the same pumpkin stand each year when we visit.  This year my husband and I will be hosting our first ever Thanksgiving.  We decided to splurge on our pumpkin purchases and maybe went a little over board.

We decorated the front stoop with these new pumpkins, a few bales of hay, and some mums (both new plants and old plants from last year).  I was quite proud of myself to even put some decorative material to cover the base of one of the planters.

Aren't all those pumpkins too cute.  How could we possibly pass them by?!  The great thing about the stand we stop at is they have such a great variety of pumpkins and gourds.  We picked a variety of smaller items to decorate our mantel.  We've got a few Halloween items on the mantel too but those will come down for November.  I'll have to find some additional items to use as a filler.

I couldn't resist snapping a quick picture of these two tin pumpkins.  My mom and I found them at HomeGoods at the beginning of the season along with a few of the Halloween decorations on the mantel and the ceramic pumpkin on the front stoop.

I hope everyone is blessed with a wonderful fall this year!!

New Beginings

My husband and I recently purchased our current house.  Over the past few months, we have been busy with many tasks.  In that time we have managed to have the main living area painted (by a professional, I do not have the skills or the tools to paint a wall that high), purchase a kitchen table, hang a few pictures, and paint a hallway. 

We painted the main area with Behr's Sandstone Cove.  Once the walls were painted we could start hanging some pictures on the walls.  My husband has a hobby of photography which makes for some great images to hang.

I find myself struggling with a desire to just pick things and fill up spaces (as many who know me will tell you, I am an inpatient, sometimes impulsive person – I like to have a task and “get her done” as they say).  I do not want to fill my home with stuff, I want to decorate, pick a theme, display items that are meaningful to me.  I have a few ideas and a laundry list in my head of tasks I want to accomplish but along with a  new home comes a new mortgage and I have to remind myself that I need to space out projects and do what we can afford (Did you know a gallon of Behr Ultra Paint is 30 dollars?!  Not that I think it is too much but if you have to buy multiple gallons it starts to add up).

I want this blog to be a way to share projects I am working on and things going on in my life.  There is no set theme, just discussing tasks around the house and activities that make our house a home.  Here are some more pictures just to show you around a little bit of the house.

That red splotch on the wall is a paint sample.  We're having the dining room painted soon to be ready for Thanksgiving. 

The bedroom walls will be getting a fresh coat of paint soon too.