What... I... Did... On... My... Summer.....

Vacation Hiatus!! Okay, true confessions...

We had a Dinner Party here last Thursday night. And because I tend to be "right on top of things at all times"...Not!...my whole Universe has to come to a screeching halt if I'm expecting out-of-town company or a "Social" of any kind at my home. I used to say, "When will I ever learn?", but I'm waaaaay too old for that now, so instead, I just go with the flow. Which entails shutting down the Universe (as much as is humanly possible) and digging in at tackling procrastinated projects, painting walls, cleaning carpets, washing slipcovers, etc., etc., etc.
So here are the fruits of my labor:

I finally finished painting the "Mustard" on our two family room walls.

Ottoman BEFORE:
Ottoman AFTER:

I love the way the Barn Red and Mustard look next to each other.

Here's the "entertainment" we provided for the evening. J/K... But I did get a kick out of these cuties entertaining themselves with the new toy I recently bought for the grand-kiddies.

More fun times!

Em and C.

Cutie-pa-tooties, Sara and Will.

Somehow, I didn't get everyone photographed that night. It was an afterthought at the last minute.

Because Mr. S. was using the little kids' TV to watch his movie that night (old pic above), little Miss C decided to watch 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses' in the living room on our portable DVD player. Hi cute little Miss C. : )

Little sister spent her time playing with the doll houses. That smile is SO contagious!!!! : )

My own two little princesses had to stay home with their Daddy that night because of the stomach flu. : ( We missed them SO much!! Thanks (P) family for visiting us while some of you were in town from Washington. We loved our time together!!!!

Next Post: Because I couldn't truly stop the Universe during my "break", I still attended two birthday parties, made and sent out a Wedding gift, and made a 'Special Order' item for my Shop. I'll share those things with you in a couple of days---ML : )

Uh-Oh...been MIA

And probably will be until the end of the week. See you then!

picture source from Barely Sane Blog

And remember..."In a perfect world all we would do is Blog and create." (quoting myself)

THIS JUST IN...Plus Wednesdays With My Mom

Just in the Shop, that is.

BUT FIRST, Wednesdays with my mom:

So sweet...Mom with the first three kiddos (above).

And below, three brand new dolly-babies for Christmas!

And I thought I'd throw this beautiful pic of my dad in just because. He was such a kind and gentle person.

On this day last week, we went to Michael's. My mom loves looking at all the silk flowers every time we go.

So we brought some yellow mums home with us.

Next, we ran to Costco to pick up some supplies that Mom's caregiver, Sam, asked me to get. Notice the delicious Berry Smoothie from Costco. Who can pass those up??? Not me!

Also (above) my mom got the biggest kick out of the new Stamping magazine I picked up while we were at Michael's. It really surprised me how much she enjoyed looking through it.

Below, the yellow mums next to a picture of my mom and dad.

Next, a couple of my latest creations.

These silly hangers cost me $3.00 each at the Scrapbooking store, so I added $2.00 over the price of my last Bingo Halloween Card. : ( Sorry.

Hope you're having a good Wednesday

Clock giveaway over at 'Charmed I'm Sure'

Kim at Charmed I'm Sure is having a clock giveaway sponsored by CSN who carries everything from clocks to mattresses. Stop by before 11:59 pm Mountain Time on August 28th and enter to win.



Ooo-La-La! I would want the Kitty one. but Sara would want the Audrey one. Here's hopin' and wishin'!!!

Sermons From the Bathroom Mirror

I just made this into a little card tonight. This saying (which my brother first told me about), has been up in my kitchen for years now, but only on a plain yellow note card.
I scanned the cover of the book that I got this darling bunny frame from (below). The big red dot on the book signifies a sale (from Barnes and Noble). A "treasury" indeed. Every page is filled with wonder. I got it two weeks ago, so hopefully they still have some left if you are interested. But please feel free to copy and print any of the note cards I've posted over the last few Sundays.

Have a good Sunday,

Mary Lou

A Fun Experiment

Someone recently asked me to make a custom NEST banner for them. Well, I've had an idea floating around in my mind for awhile now, that I thought would fit this project perfectly. I wanted some BIG flying birds to hold the banner.

I tried an experiment... I stamped some soaring birds onto a printed page, (actually this little tiny sheet is from a scrapbooking set), scanned it, and printed it as an 8 x 10. I printed it onto card stock so it would be stiff.

However, I felt like the birds were too dark for the project...

so I glittered them. : )

I was so happy with the end result.

I tried the banner with green garland, and silver.

Next, remember when I showed you these a while back?
Well, she was tons of fun!!! She's kind of messy, cuz she's my prototype, but I'm planning on putting one or two in the Shop eventually.

And finally, I'm planning on making this to say BOO with BIGGER triangles to put in the Shop. It will cost less than this one with six letters.
Happy crafting! : )