Making Cards

These 3 cards are from a panel of stickers from the dollar store. I just added blocks of the purple to add color. These pictures do not do the cards justice. Those black & white stickers are really pretty. They came like this, they were not embellished :)

Alot of the paper we use is from theme books of paper and the stickers are either on sale or from dollar stores :)

Blank Cards

Today the girls and I made a few blank cards.

 I was looking at quilts on blogs today and was inspired by what I saw. The thing I like about homemade cards is that they are inexpensive to make and are unique.

The great thing about making cards is that there aren't any rules :)

If you watch for sales, you will find paper, cut outs, tablets of paper, and envelops on sale. We do not buy sets of cut cards and envelopes, we buy card stock and invitation envelopes and cut paper to size :)

Beloved Gretchen

She will be missed greatly. She was with us for 10 years and with a lot of health issues, but nothing stopped her from being lovable and kind and eager to please us. We are sad but thankful we had her for as long as we did. We had to put her down on July 15 after she couldn't walk anymore for a few days. This was causing other issues and because of her age they couldn't do anything for her.
The drs said that after 8 years with large dogs everyday may be their last. But isn't it true of all of us. We aren't promised tomorrow anymore than a pet is.

James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Phillipians 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling

Teepee Trellis

This picture is from a few years ago. The idea is to grow pole beans or morning glory up the teepee and have a child play in the teepee. This spot was too shady, so our plants didn't grow well. But I thought I'd post it anyway, because I would like to try it in the future. We bought 9' plastic-coated metal faux bamboo rods for project because they will last forever :) Glad we did that because this picture is 7 years old!

Garden

 

We planted Roma Tomatoes late this year, so we will have a late harvest.

Sunflower that came up from a rogue seed from last years harvest.

This is actually asparagus. I've had this plant for a few years too close to pine tree. A few weeks ago I transplanted it into the garden. It is doing well. There is actually an asparagus shoot on it but it is too small for a mouse :)

Corn and Watermelon. It is planted like this with the 3 Sister's Crop in mind. I am thinking we should waited til we bought some squash instead, b/c the watermelon will easily overtake the corn.

 

This is a yellow tomato that is still green.

It's been a long time since I have blogged. Thanks for taking a look over here :) I've had these garden pictures up for a few days before I had a chance to add words. Thanks for your comment "Hobbit". Great job trying to identifying the asparagus. The picture isn't that good or close for being able to see what it is.

Our garden is a little bit of square foot gardening and a little bit of "lets see what happens". 

We decided to get a soaker hose to add to our old soaker hose and it is working like a dream. It's been very hot and very dry, so the hose was a great thing in keeping the garden hydrated with out running out there a few times a day. 

Chicken & Stewed Tomatoes

My girls and I enjoyed watching the Food Revolution and trying to make food from the show. We didn't have the right ingredients for a certain recipe; I don't even remember what it was exactly. But ours was yumo! I really like this recipe b/c you can very easily substitute an ingredient for something else.

My 8 year old had a great time cutting vegetables with me! I've got to do this more often!

Olive Oil
about 4 Chicken Breasts (boneless/skinless if possible)
3 Cloves of Garlic
Small Onion
1 Bell Pepper
Mushrooms
15-oz can Stewed Tomatoes
4-oz can Tomato Paste

1. Brown Chicken in olive (or grill) just a few minutes to give golden brown. Set aside

2. Saute garlic, onion, then pepper, & mushrooms.

3. Drain oil & put previous & rest of ingredients in a frying pan with lid. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Serve over rice or noodles :)

From one heart to another

A friend gave me a bleeding heart plant last year and the sad thing is that I had thought that I had killed it. What a surprise to see this pretty coming up this year. I thanked my neighbor for the plant. My girls and I have never had a plant like this. We are enjoying seeing how the little hearts grow and change every day.

Wreath Upcycled

I found a new blog I love. She has a tutorial for this pretty wreath. If you have time check out her blog :)
Search: "Living with Lindsay" paper wreath

School is almost out for my girls,,, one more month.
This is my second year home schooling. I've learned so many things about being a mom. It's a huge blessing to be home with them. My oldest will be a senior in high school next school year; which means we'll be visiting colleges this summer. Where has the time gone? What are your plans for the summer?

Erasers

This eraser is super easy to make. We took 4 squares of felt that were about 4" X 4" and sewed them down the middle on the sewing machine and then we folded it in half. Lastly, with quilting thread we made some "X"'s. We use the white board alot for school and only have one store bought eraser. I thought we'd take the frugal way and make a few since we have plenty of felt :)

Here's my lil artist taking the real pictures :)

Eggs

I love farm eggs. Before I started getting eggs from a farm I didn't see the point. I couldn't have been more wrong. They look beautiful compared to store bought eggs outside and inside. A farm egg has a beautiful bright yellow color. It will make a store egg look sickly by comparison :)