1 Chronicles 16:34 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures for ever." Amen? Amen!!!

I am working like crazy on my booth for the flea market, so I haven't spent much time working on projects for my house.  I did, FINALLY, update my mantle.  I mean, it isn't Easter anymore...;) This mantle has a very similar feel to the Easter Mantle, but no bunnies!  

It's time for some more pain medicine for my hubs, so I've got to run.  Enjoy your day, and enjoy the Son!!!

Here is a quick update on my absence on the blog.  First of all, the weather is finally nice, and I am enjoying time outside with my kiddos.  I do not really know why, but I have been very aware lately of how quickly this time will be gone.  While the CONSTANT, "Mommy!  Watch me!!" and, "Mama!!!  Look at this!" wear me out by the end of the day, I know that all too soon that will be over.  I see my short people growing everyday and becoming more and more independent--and that is fantastic!  That's what we want, right?  I just don't want to look back and wish I would have spent more time with them.  I feel quite confident that I will never say, "Gosh.  I wish I would have spent more time on my blog when the shorties were still shorties...", ya know what I mean?

Second, I cannot remember if I shared this or not, I am going to have a booth at the Kane County Flea Market in June.  I am sooooo excited about this, and I have been making projects like crazy!  Seriously, my living room/dining room has been overrun with projects. I am having a lot of fun making the projects for the booth, but it is time consuming.  

Third, my knee is still pretty rotten and everything I do takes about three times longer than normal.  Ugh.  Since my knee slows me down so much, it takes all the time I have in the day to work on projects and just be a wife and mommy, and stopping to write a post means I am not working on all the other stuff that is piling up.  It's a vicious cycle, I tell ya! ;)  The good news is that I did see an orthopaedic surgeon, and I do NOT, for sure!, need surgery.  The bad news is that when I hurt my knee, it appears that I actually cut into the MCL and hamstring.  It has been almost four months since the injury, and my knee is still very sore and swollen.  I have fluid in the bone, which is a very deep bone bruise.  The specialist said it could take up to 18 months to fully recovery.  I am faithful with my PT and feel confident that my knee is improving.  Pray for me, though, because I do get discouraged at times!!!

Fourth, (now it just seems like I'm making stuff up!), since it is finally nice out I have been able to do some yard work.  You may not know this, but I LOVE yard work.  Seriously, I really, truly enjoy it.  It is hardwork, but it is so rewarding!  Sidenote: I have wanted tulips my whole life, but I never remember to plant bulbs in the fall.  However, last fall, Mo and I planted 30 bulbs, and they all came up.  So pretty!

And last, I am going to be "auditioning" for the upcoming season of So You Think You're Crafty. I won't know for a few weeks yet if I am actually in the competition, but since I am going to be in Texas for the first couple of weeks of the competition, I have to have my projects ready in case I actually advance.  Since all of the projects have to be completely annonymous, I am not sharing most of the things I have been working on just yet.

Sorry I do not have any photos to share right now.  I am having some technical difficulties, and my tech guy is out of town, at a tech conference!  Oh, the irony!!!

Thank you all for following along with me--even when there isn't much to see!  Praying you are all well!

Love, Holly

Seriously, they are enormous!  ENORMOUS!!!

They are currently on sale for $9.98 each.  Did I mention that they are enormous?!

I hung them up as soon as I got home, and it instantly felt more Spring-y.  (You know what I mean!)

My hubs and I were sitting on the porch before I took a pic.  I sit on my porch every.single.day. from April-November.  I absolutely love this cozy space.  Anyhow, my hubs asked if I wanted him to move for the pic, and I was like, "Nah.  It's more real this way!"  

I have been buying ferns for our porch for four years now, and these are truly the largest ferns I have ever bought at that price!  I am honestly not sure if my ferns, that I fertilized and nurtured for six months, ever looked as big as these do right now!  

I generally do not buy any plants before Mother's Day, but I make an exception for my ferns.  They are very hardy, and if we do have another freeze, they are easy enough to just unhook and move into the garage.

Do you live in an area where it is already safe to plant without worrying about a late, spring freeze? Have you started planting yet?  What about you gardeners out there?  Have you started your seeds inside?

Well, whether you are planting anything or not, I hope you take time to enjoy the rebirth and renewal that Spring brings.  Enjoy the Son!

Remember those buckets that I gave a faux patina?  They all ended up on my mantle!

My husband recently surprised me with a "just because" gift, and included in the gift where these three nails, and I thought they were incredibly fitting for an Easter display.  So thankful that my debt has been paid!!!

I just LOVE old books, and I love to incorporate them into my decor!

I have quite a collection of flower pots.  I very quickly dry brushed some white paint onto a few of them, and I like the way they turned out.  And you can see that I stuffed book pages into just about everything for this vignette!

I think I will leave this up for awhile.  It makes me happy!  What about you?  Do you have your spring decor out, or have you already moved on?

I pray things are well for you!  Enjoy the Son!

This installment of TTR is kind of a recipe AND a tip.  A few weeks ago, I read this fantasic post from Victoria over at A Subtle Revelry.  When I saw this "piñata" cake, I knew it would be perfect for my son's birthday party!

Now, Victoria has great photos and great tips, so check her post out for lots of details.  Or just read mine and hope for the best (kidding!).

I started with two boxes of vanilla cake mix.  Since I only have one glass bowl for baking, I baked each cake seperately.  I mixed the cake per the instruction, poured the batter into the glass bowl (which I lined with parchment paper on the bottom and sprayed the sides of the bowl), and baked the cake for 55 minutes.  I let the cake cool for 10 minutes, and then I transfered it to a cooling rack, where I let it cool overnight.  Then I repeated the same steps for the second cake!

The next morning, I cut the tops off of my cakes to make them flat.

Then I scooped out some of the inside of each cake, being careful not to get too close to the edge or too close to the bottom.  I saved the inside pieces of cake for cake pops!  Then I filled the bottom cake with candy.

Next, I frosted the edge of the bottom cake (using a jar of whipped, buttercream frosting) so that I could "glue" the cakes together.

Once the cakes were together, my daughter helped me frost and sprinkle the cake.  **Worthy of note: When I carved out the "top" cake, I went a touch too deep, and I could feel that the top was very thin.  I had to be careful when frosting so as not to puncture the top.  I succeeded, but the cake did collapse a bit once we cut into it.

My short people watched/helped me make this cake, so they knew what was coming.  We, however, did not tell any of our short guests what was inside, so their faces where priceless when we cut into the cake! Unfortunately, I do not have pics of that, and I barely have pics of the inside, because it is hard to serve cake and ice cream and take pics!  No worries, though.  It was a fun time, and I am SURE we will be making this again!

I feel like I should note that while this was super fun to make and surprise the kids with, most kids just kind of picked at it and went for the cake pops instead!  I don't blame them--I wasn't even tempted to try this!  I got a sugar high just from putting it together! ;)

This was such a fun and easy spin on a birthday cake.  If you try this, send me a picture and I will but a post together with YOUR cakes!

Enjoy the Son!

I wanted to patch the jeans, but I couldn't find any patches that I liked. I decided to create my own patch with a piece of felted wool and some embroidery floss.  I already had loads of colors of floss, so I just needed the felted wool.  I picked up a small roll, about the size of a placemat, from Michael's for $3.99.  I cut out an oval-ish shape slightly larger than the hole, and I used a very loose, whip stitch to secure the wool to the jeans.  I didn't take pics of this project, because I wasn't even going to post this, but every time I wear them people ask, "Where did you get those jeans?!" Too funny!  

Here is my patch job!

Extreme close-up

The felted wool comes in many different colors (reds, greens, yellows, etc.), and the embroidery floss comes in EVERY color! I chose blue because I wear A LOT of blue tones, and I didn't want the patch to stand out too much.  I do think, however, that it would be fun to have a red patch with yellow stitching or some other eye catching combo!

Also, I have washed this pair of jeans about 10 times since I added the patch, and the patch is working perfectly!  So, today's tip, embellish your worn clothes with a custom patch to give them a refreshed, boutique look--and let me know what worked for you!

Enjoy the Son

Anyhow, I really like old, metal buckets, and I LOVE when they are all worn and "patina-ed".  What I don't like is that they can be incredibly heavy and I cannot buy them any day of the week since they aren't sold in stores. What I can find everyday are very light weight, and very shiny, galvanized metal buckets. 

Some time ago (almostayearbutwhoiscounting) I picked up these buckets at GoodWill for $0.99 each.  I decided I would try a few techniques and see if I could make them look old and delicious.

I have seen a number of different ways (on Pinterest, of course!) to age a new bucket.  I have tried several of them, but haven't really achieved the look I was going for.  I have seen a couple of bloggers use the Sophisticated Finishes with great results, but I was too cheap to pay the $9.99 for a 4oz bottle.  I decided that I would first try what I had on hand and see what I could end up with.

First, I painted a section of the bucket a floral green, using a sponge brush.

Then, using the same sponge brush, I mixed a little bit of white paint into the green.  This softend the green a bit and helped hide the pattern on the bucket.

Next, using a small paint brush, I randomly brushed some horizontal black stripes on the bucket.

Then I used the sponge brush again to blend in the black paint, making horizontal sweeping motions.

Then I just repeated those step all around the bucket.

For this little gal, I just used a small paint brush and "swirled" some white paint on the bucket.  

I let it dry for about a minute, and then a took a dry paper towel and buffed the bucket. I forgot to take a picture for this post, but I will show it to you at the end of the week when I show you my spring mantle! ;)

I decided to add some embellishments to one of the pieces, so I gathered up some scraps.  I did not take pics of this process because 1) it would be boring, 2) I forgot that some people might not find it boring and did I didn't even bother with pics, and 3) everyone is going to have different stuff, so I didn't want anyone to get stuck on using the same stuff I used.  Use what you got, folks!  Anyhow, I hot glued a scrap of burlap to the front of the bucket.  Then I clipped the tabs off of some mini brads, and I hot glued the heads onto the burlap.  Then I stuck (literally) a scrap of black vinyl (leftover from a project on my Cricut) right onto the burlap.  I brushed a very small amount chalkboard paint onto the vinyl so that I could use chalk on it.  I like how the burlap pattern shows through the "chalkboard".  

Two of these buckets have a very strong patina/very green finish, which is PERFECT for the spring mantle I have been working on!  The one bucket has a more oxidized zinc feel to it, which is fantastic!  I am sure I will play around with more of these and keep working on different finishes.  Have you tried creating your own patina?  What worked (or didn't!) for you?!  I'd love to know!  

Hope your week is off to a lovely start!  Enjoy the Son!

P.S. The Creating with the Stars Contest kicked off this week, and the contestants came up with some seriously uh-mazing projects!  Check them out and vote for your favorite!

Tuesday is the day I picked for TTR because it is the day that I usually have a couple of free hours to put a post together.  (That and I like the alliteration!;) Anyhow, yesterday's post was going to be a yummy banana bread recipe, but we devoured the bread before I took any pics, and then school was canceled for a snow day, so my free time was no longer free.  I was stressing for a bit because I wanted to put a post up, but then I was like, "What am I stressed about?! I have a sponsor free blog, so I am not accountable to anyone for when I do/don't post anything!"  

I wanted to post something for my readers, but a lot of you are moms too, so you get where I am coming from. I decided that the best thing I could do yesterday was hang out with my kiddos and just enjoy the unexpected blessing of a free day with them.  We watched a movie, played Legos and LalaLoopsy, drew pictures, and talked--A LOT!  The kids played out in the snow with some of the neighbors.  I, unfortunately, am still healing from my knee injury and am unstable in the snow, so I was on hot cocoa duty.  It was a lovely day, but if I had not extended grace to myself, I would have missed it.

Do yourself a favor and extend some grace to yourself.  Because, honestly, if Tuesday's tip comes on Wednesday morning, it really not a big deal! ;)

Enjoy the Son!

She HAD to bring her doctor LalaLoopsy.  Anyone else have a kiddo that is into these?  We don't even have the channel that the show is on, but she sure knows about them and apparently loves them!

Anyhow, I, as always, have soooooooo many things that I want to share with you, but I am short on time right now since everything takes me about 10 times as long as usual.  However, I am trying to really take the time and slow down and enjoy this rather than be cranky and frustrated with my slowness.  (My family would tell you that I am trying hard, but crankiness and frustration win out often...;)  AND, I have a number of tutuorials that I have been working on, and I accidentally deleted the photos from my iPhone.  I thought I imported them, but, oops!

All that to say, even though I have not posted anything fun for awhile, I am always working on something--and right now I am working four smaller projects, one medium-ish project, and one super-humongous-gianormous-so-excited-about-it-I-can-hardly-stand-it project!  You will be seeing some of those soon!

AAAAAAAND, the contestants for Creating With The Stars are going to be announced on Friday! I submitted my entry, and I would LOVE to be a contestant, but there are 361 total entries, and only 12 will be chosen. But I have a chance, right?!  Hop on over to East Coast Creative and check out the entires--you will LOVE them! My project is #24.

Enjoy the Son today!