A Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party

Last week my youngest grandbaby, Norah, turned 1.

Her brother and sister thought she should have a 

Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party.

My daughter-in-law made this adorable cake!

And all the decorations: different sized colored felt circles criss-crossed the room and a giant caterpillar made from tissue paper crawled across the wall.

Even the food matched the theme: besides hamburgers and hot dogs, 

all the fruit from the story was served.

The birthday girl had a great time!
Isn't she adorable?!

   

Medieval Times at VBS

This is Vacation Bible School week at our church, and since I am the director, this is where my energy has been going the last couple of weeks.

The sets have were fun to put together!

With lots and lots of help, of course!

But the most fun is all the kids and everyone who participates!

'Tis the Season for Weddings and Babies!

This is the time of year for weddings, and there are quite a few of them this year.
There are also a few babies being born this spring/summer, so I have been busy making some gifts for the various occasions.

My niece is having her first baby, so I was looking through my fabrics and patterns to make a baby quilt, but nothing was jumping out. Then I walked into my grandkids' bedroom, noticed a quilt, and I had my inspiration!

My grandmother (this baby's great, great grandmother) had made a Sunbonnet Sue quilt back in the 1940s which I quilted for my daughter when she was 7. In the process, I had made it smaller to fit a twin bed, and still had several of these squares somewhere. I went on a search, found them, and used one as the center of a special quilt, a piece of family history for this new baby!

When I make a quilt for something like a baby or wedding, I like to write a short note on muslin and sew it to the back, explaining what occasion it was made for, what it means, etc, so the recipient and future generations will always remember.

I am starting a new tradition with this quilt. I have a new granddaughter due in September and I already have 1 and 3 year old granddaughters, so I will make one for each of them and future baby girls in the family as well.

Maybe I will use the extras from this Sailboat quilt, also made by my grandmother, for the boys!

 I also like to make name pics for new babies.
It just takes some pretty scrapbook paper to match the nursery and alphabet stickers or marker if you have nice handwriting.


This one is a layering of 3 different papers. I fell in love with the white lace paper and looked for a solid to put behind and something special for the middle.


Pink and green were the colors of this nursery, and the owl, flower and different color letters add to the playfulness.


For wedding shower gifts, I made a few Mr. & Mrs. pillows,

a big one,

and a set of 2 smaller ones.

Write the wedding date in the corner to make it more personal.

Handmade gifts are always appreciated, especially when you can make them really personal!

Furniture Project: Grey and White French Writing Desk

When I brought this desk home, I was so excited that I didn't get even one picture to show how it looked in the before stage! I knew immediately how it should look, and I just started right in!

The lines are just so beautiful!

I used a soft grey for the majority, but went with white for the drawers and details.
Aren't the curves pretty? I kept the original hardware.

And the curved legs are one of my favorite features.


The side detail is a little shell.

Perfect for a writing desk in a living room or bedroom.

It looks great with the grey and white shelf I painted a couple weeks ago.

So adorable!


Link Parties:

 http://www.commonground-do.com/2013/06/be-inspired-146-mini-summer-home-tour.html

Before and After: Family/Living Room Swap, Part 2

 

This is the second part of my Before and After of the Great Room Swap! (You can see part 1 here)
 I had a hard time finding before shots of the living room for some reason, but I managed to gather enough to give you an idea of the changes.


Before: this was the look last January


After: the fireplace stayed in the same spot, but everything else changed.

Before: right side of the fireplace bookcase and chair


After: replaced with white bookcase and blue rocking chair, it has a lighter look


Before: left side with a big club chair



 
After: the drop cloth wing chair and ottoman look great here

Before: the first spring mantel this year

After: the new spring mantel

Before

After: the table and lamps stayed but everything has a much airier look 

with the white curtains and chairs

Before: this was the usual look for the mantel, with one of my favorite pictures,

a print of Plymouth, Mass

After: I really love this look!

(I hung the picture in the new family room so I can still enjoy it)

The walls stayed the same, with white batten and board paneling and a coffee-colored paint, but with the furniture switch, it has such a brighter, airier feel to it.