Hubby drove it into this barn 20 years ago — the summer before we were married. It’s about time it was rescued! Lost cattle got into the barn and used it as toilet paper and added a few dings to the body but otherwise, it’s in great condition, except for the interior. I don’t envy Don this restoration job but he sure seems to be excited by it and I hope the boys will get lots of quality time with their dad.
The boys have stain in their newly acquired, adorable haircuts. I timed that wrong! Well, I hope they learned some sort of life-enhancing lesson through all that work! The interior of the fence is done. Hooray!
So we got “poo-ed” by a couple of skittish ghosts running from our front porch. So cute! The bag included all sorts of poo: vampire poo (hot tamales), skeleton poo (skeleton bones: mini marshmallows on pretzel sticks dipped in white bark), bat poo (chocolate covered raisins), spider poo (cotton candy), and clown poo (skittles). Very clever! A fun idea to pass along a church group and/or neighborhood.
Another favorite quote sign that I have hanging in my home (a Goodwill find!): “Write it on your heart that the ones you love are life’s most precious gifts.”
We created a cute vampire-fang-monster-mouth car decoration for the open back of a car at our trunk or treat. This was in 2009 – weren’t those boys so cute? They look so small to me when looking back just two years later. We had just moved to Houston in this picture and it was HOT for Halloween. The fangs were easy to create – a quick tip to make it even easier: we used an old, giant sticky note presentation board so they just stuck and we didn’t even have to tape them on anywhere to the car! Easy! Cute!
Hmph. I know that title should be italicized but I can’t find in my WordPress where it will allow you make it italic (there’s no place for HTML encoding or formatting of any kind). Oh well. Please forgive me, dear readers who might possibly care (cough, cough). I know I’m the only one who probably cares about such things considering I is (sic) an English major and all.
So I’ve decided to go back through some old work and post it on here so this blog can include more of the graphic design I’ve done over the years. Someday I’ll get that professional site up, but blogging is way more fun. Here’s a cover I did a year or two ago for Jack Weyland’s book entitled Cameron Meets Madison. The publisher had strict instructions to make it similar to his other bestselling works but I wanted it to look a bit fresher and I think it hits the mark. I have not read it — yet — but if you have, let me know your thoughts either here or on goodreads.
ALL THE FLOWERS OF TOMORROW ARE IN THE SEEDS OF TODAY.
I bought this because it is one of my favorite gardening/life analogy quotes. I also love the one that says, “You can’t tell the quality of the soil until you plant the seed.” So profound. I think of my kids and friends with that one, as well as sharing the gospel. Hope you like it as much as I do!
Anyone who knows me knows that I ADORE great quotes. I picked up this sign in Omaha when I bought the other sign posted about here that seems to have sparked a nerve on Pinterest and has been repinned by so many. Since that one was so popular, I thought I’d share this one as well.
We are in love with our new fence stain! It is from Lowe’s and the Cabot brand. Before we moved, we stained our own deck and it lasted so much longer than those that were spray-stained. Anyway, it’s taken a ton of stain just to do the outside (about $650 worth for the whole fence) but we’ve been rolling and painting it on — and it looks great.
As we drove around the neighborhood, everyone seemed to have dark stains and we just didn’t want that look. This matches our guttering perfectly and I can’t wait to get some pretty vines over the fence in the spring. Fingers crossed it lasts for quite awhile — we’re not done staining the inside yet and we don’t want to have to redo it anytime soon. We have to hurry and get the inside done before the really cold weather sets in (yay snow!).
I saw this idea in a magazine and didn’t have access to the supplies they suggested so when I hit Lowe’s for some fence stain, I grabbed a 6′ x 8′ indoor/outdoor rug for $17 in black and cut it into two halves. One half I made into a round spider web and the other half I made into a very large oval spider web. We painted the lines on the round one with all-weather silicone caulking. I am afraid it isn’t going to stick very well or could be pulled off, so I’m going to get some white fabric paint and do the second rug (and re-do the white lines on the first one). It turned out really cute and it was cheap and easy! It’s a great way to fill a large porch with a custom sized rug and my Kindergartner enjoyed helping me draw the lines as we marked them out with a white crayon (we didn’t have any chalk on hand!) and it worked perfectly. He could easily help and follow the ruler — it was a fun, cheap, and quick family activity! Highly recommend!
Here is one of Ben — at first he held the yardstick while I drew the lines with a white crayon. Then, he begged and begged so I held the yardstick and he drew the lines perfectly fine! He’s a kindergartner, so if he can do it — anyone can! It truly is a cheap, easy family project for Halloween.
UPDATE Halloween 2012: This rug is still in silicone only and has held up really, really well! I did NOT go back over it with paint or anything else. Yay!
Just for fun, here is my all-time favorite Halloween decoration. At our house, the witch is ALWAYS in!!!
I remember a couple of these signs from Brooks’ running ad campaign around 2008/2009 — when I was in Omaha and hitting the gym regularly and running on the treadmill. I love to run outdoors, too, but I don’t mind 9 miles on the treadmill at all, either. It goes so fast with an mp3 player or a tv (if you want that!). While I prefer the right kind of tunes and no television, I enjoy the treadmill because you can pace yourself. Intervals is my idea of a good time!!! I love sprints on the treadmill. Crazy, I know. But I do enjoy the perspective of running outside — and there are days in the spring and fall when I would not trade outdoors for anything. This morning was a perfect example of one of those days!! Hooray for running! Hooray for design! Any mix of the two gets an A+ in my book.
I found a great new site this morning with inspirational design that I really quite like: cococozy. Take a look, but I’m warning you — you’ll browse for hours!
We love Oklahoma. We were all riding in the car and Ben piped up with the 2nd verse about his honeylamb so I figured I needed to get it on tape. We all stared at him in amazement since none of us knew all of those words! Apparently, this is what they teach in Kindergarten in Oklahoma and that’s OK by us!
It’s almost better than reading books and much more instantly gratifying: Pinterest. I love this site. It’s the new method of flipping through magazines for ideas and putting them all in one place: quotes, decor, motivation, design ideas, garden ideas, etc. Now if I could only get OFF pinterest and start working on my own abode…I’m still planning, okay?! This is everything I love all mixed in one.
I planted some mums in this cute planter and Don put them up near the front door for me – so cute! His honey-do list is shrinking.
I found the sign above on our trip to Omaha over Labor Day weekend and had to bring it home. Love it and it hangs in our living room now.