Freebies Are Fun!

 So I've discovered this awesome page on Facebook called "Thrifty Wifey".

And if you're a fan of "freebies" and "cheapies", this is the page for you!

You can find her at:

http://www.facebook.com/ThriftyWifey

Each day she posts freebies and cheapies...all kinds of things!

I managed to snag this heart necklace above for COMPLETELY FREE!

No cost, no shipping...TOTALLY FREE!

 Another one of my finds...

These super cute hoop earrings!

FREE!

And these 2 ct. white topaz earrings...

FREE!

Yeah baby!

You MUST check out "The Thrifty Wifey" today!

And a few more scarves...

 Everyone keeps asking when I'm going to sell some of my t-shirt scarves.

Well, right now...I'm just having too much fun creating them all and keeping them myself, LOL!

I have to admit, the idea of shipping always scares me too.

Hubby says I should be able to get them into the "flat rate" boxes if people really do want to order...so maybe it's something I'll have to explore!

This top one is another "link scarf" I did in pink, yellow, and white...my three favorite colors!

 This one is a red spaghetti scarf and a cowl scarf layered with it.

And finally a ruffle scarf in yellow.

Let me know what you think of all these scarves I've been posting.

...and if you think I should sell them...

A few more t-shirt scarves, pins, and hair clips...

 So I finally got the time to work on some more of my t-shirt scarves yesterday.

I really like how this red, white, & blue patriotic one turned out.

Perfect for July 4th!

 This purple cowl and lavender spaghetti scarf are two put together.

As I mentioned before, this is one of my favorite aspects of t-shirts scarves...the ability to mix and match the colors and styles!

 Then with the leftover scraps, I decided to make a few more pins and hair clips to match!

Excuse the glue, still gotta remove that...hehe!

"I wish...I wish...I wish..."

I have a few friends, who every time I mention something positive happening in my life, they will say something like, "Oh, you are so lucky!" or "I wish I could do that!" or something to that fact.

I have almost hit a place in my life where these kinds of phrases frustrate me.

Some people say, "You can do anything you put your mind to."

Well, I don't completely agree with that.

Some things take a lot of resources, money, time, or right out "knowing the right person".

So I don't believe that you can do "anything".

However, I DO believe you can "make things happen" in your life.

You can succeed.

You can provide for your family.

When friends say to me, "You are so lucky" or "I wish I could do that"...YOU CAN!

Everything in my life that I have, I have those things because of TWO things:

1. Hard work.

2. God's blessing.

If you are willing to work hard...and be in God's will, you will have his blessing.

I don't have it "all".

I have been able to provide for my family through a variety of decent jobs in my life.

All be it, some VERY hard work and not so pleasant jobs.

Some with not so great bosses, some with physical pain, some that were dirty...but, they paid the bills and bought me some extras!

And now...I've been able to open my own childcare business, work from home, set my own hours/days, be here for my family...and make a pretty decent living off it!

Also, by taking a class, learning a lot from reading, and online...I've been able to start learning cake and cookie decorating.  This too brings me either the ability to earn a little income or to bless others with gifts!

I also look at other little things God has blessed me with..."talents" and such as gifts in my life.

For example, learning to "super coupon"...this has been a huge blessing for our family by learning to shop inexpensively and stockpile!

Also...learning to "repurpose" items.

I've been making scarves, hair clips, and pins out of old t-shirts (quite cute I might add).

These are just simple examples of what I consider blessings from God!

I'm not lucky!

I work very hard for all I have and try to stay in the will of God!

We have been blessed to be able to take small trips with our family each year, buy furnishings for our home, nice holidays for our boys, and extras at school.

I have even tried to "help" some of these friends with either ideas, suggestions, etc. to "make it happen" or "get them started" in many areas of their life.

I have been "shot down" by these same people.

So what really irks me, is when I hear them in person and online, continue to complain about life.

Sometimes, it requires getting up out of our "rut" or our "comfort zone".

Change is hard.

(I hate change!)

It's not fun.

It's scary.

But, this is when great things can happen!

And sometimes, you have to "let go" of one thing, to make a positive thing in your life happen!

Sometimes we have to quit making excuses and MAKE A MOVE!

So I challenge you, if you are having a hard time getting out of that comfort zone...you're looking to "make it happen"...you need either more income, or just shear happiness and change in your life...GET UP...and MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Ask God to give you direction and guidance.

He's right there waiting for you!

My kitchen reno...

 Soooo...

Since I'm "probably" never going to open a bakery...

I thought that the least I could do was to decorate my kitchen in a bakery theme!

How fun is that!

I just started putting together a few pieces and thought I'd share along the way as I gather some things.

First off, is the ADORABLE sign my mom and dad made for me!

I saw this on Pinterest and fell in love with it.

When I showed my mom and dad, they immediately went to work for me!

Well how sweet was that!

It's called an "I Love You" board.

All of my family's names are on those little plaques.  You change out the names, and then leave little "love messages" on the chalkboard.  You can do it in secret...or not.

I think it's adorable!

 This is a sweet little sign my mom made for me right after I "named" my baking business.

It has my logo on it.

And I love it!

Both of these wall hangings will go in my new kitchen!

The color scheme of the kitchen will be pink and brown with touches of ivy ("Sweet Ivy Confections" is the name of my baking business).

 

 We picked up this pretty chocolate brown area rug at Meijer today, and I love it!

 We have lived in our current house for 12 years.  We bought it brand new.

We have lived there 12 years "pantry free".

We have NO PANTRY.

And it's awful.

We currently have...don't laugh...an armoire-type-entertainment-type-cabinet housing all of our food.  Oh, and it doesn't stop there.  Because I'm an avid "couponer", I do a lot of stockpiling.  So...we gave up our linen closet and it is also a pantry of sorts.

Where are my linens you may ask?

In another armoire-type-thingy.

It's bad...it's real bad.

Sooooo...

We finally decided, that now was the time to purchase a new pantry!

Yay!

We not only got one pantry...we got TWO!

It will be a double pantry!

Double yay!

I can get rid of the ugly armoire-thingy, and also reclaim my linen closet for sheets and towels, AND all my food will go in a pantry!

Woot woot!

 I also decided we needed new window coverings to go with the baking theme.

I made these adorable (I think they're adorable) little valances for the top of the windows.

They have cupcakes on them!

Too cute!

 We bought chocolate brown curtains for the lower half to bring out the brown in the valances.

I'm looking for a small pink rug to put in front of the sink/counter to bring out the pink in the valances.

We also got rid of our AWFUL plastic vertical blinds on the patio/slider door.

They were awful.

Some had cracked.

It was bad.

These curtains match the ones on the smaller window, although they do look different in the photo...it's just the lighting.

I am excited about all the changes coming our way in the kitchen.

My youngest son said to me, "Mom, all of this pink is making our kitchen look a little girly."

Umm, in a house full of 3 guys...I think I'm allowed ONE ROOM for my pink girly-ness, thank-you very much!

Haha!

It's gonna be fun when it's done.

It's a lengthy process.

But it will be worth it in the end.

Watch for more pics to come in the future!

Toodles!

My newest project...T-shirt Scarves!

So...

I had been seeing these adorable scarves all over Pinterest and blogs.

All different types...

And I had no idea how to make them or WHAT they were made from.

I am NOT a sewer (although I'd like to learn).

Anywho...

Come to find out, after "pinning" these photos on Pinterest and then following up on the blogs...

They are simply made from old t-shirts!

The first one up top in orange, is called a "Spaghetti Scarf".

INCREDIBLY easy and most importantly for me...

No sewing!



This next purple, gray, and white one is a "Link Scarf".

Super easy!



This one is a "Ruffle Scarf" and although it takes more time...it is incredibly easy as well!

I also learned how to make these mini "Poms".

They are great for your hair or to pin on the scarves!

Here is the "Link Scarf" with three mini-poms pinned to it!

This is the "Spaghetti Scarf" doubled up with two mini-poms on it.

This pink one is a combination of several.

It's a "Spaghetti Scarf" doubled up and I also added a "Braided Spaghetti Scarf" to it.

Then I also learned how to make these rosettes to pin on as well!

This gold scarf is one of the EASIEST to make...it's a simple "Cowel Neck Scarf".

I added two rosettes pinned to it.

This is another "Braided Spaghetti Scarf" with a matching rosette.

A bunch of rosettes...for either pinning or as hair clips!

The great thing I love about these scarves, is that you can mix and match them and wear them so many different ways!

This is the long pink "Spaghetti Scarf" and also the orange "Spaghetti Scarf" doubles up, with a pink "Braided Spaghetti Scarf" and and orange mini-pom.

Some hair clips...

A triple purple rosette and a gray rosette.

This is one of my favorites for fall...

The rust "Spaghetti Scarf" tied with gold links and a gold rosette.

Add the gold "Cowel Neck Scarf" and a rust "Braided Spaghetti Scarf" with a rosette!

Ooops!  I posted this one sideways!  Hehe!

I have to say...

This scarf, although one of my favorites...WAS the most difficult to make.

It DOES require sewing and since I don't have a sewing machine, I used fabric glue (not recommended, LOL!  It did work though!)

It is made with two tees and braided together on the side.

I added two rosettes to it.

You'll have to use your imagination since I posted it sideways...or tilt your head!  Haha!

If you want to make any of these...go to Pinterest and check out my boards...I pinned them all and you'll be able to find the links to all of the blogs with instructions.

Or you can just type in "t-shirt scarves" and a million different pictures and links will come up!

Let me know which you try!  I'd love to hear how they turn out!

Happy "scarfing"!

The Pure Michigan Statewide Singalong

Fort Michilimackinac...Mackinaw City...Vacation Part 2

 Today we finished up our last getaway of the year.

We went to Colonial Fort Michilimackinac.

We have been before but it had been quite a few years back.

Nate was too young to even remember!

Here are the soldiers firing the canon.

 My little fur traders!

 Inside the Native American area...

 One of the Native American interpreters.

 He spoke with us about fur trading and also how they cooked and dried fish.

 A voyageur interpreter.

 Inside the fort...

 Rifle demonstrations...

 More inside the fort...

 The colonial lady interpreters showed us how they cooked.

She was making some fish/vegetable stew!

It smelled really good!

She talked about the spices they used and where they got them.

 An owl in the rafters of the church at the fort.

 Inside the church at the fort.

 Another interpreter...

 The priest at the fort...

 The latrines...hehe!

 More rooms in the fort...

 Soldier barracks...

 My two soldiers...

 In the barracks...

 Checking out the perimeter of the fort.

 Me and my babes!

Sheep!

 Hello sunshine!

This little guy smiled for me!  Hehe!

We had a great time.

It was a nice way to end our last vacation of the year.

Until next time!

Farewell Mackinaw City/Mackinac Island!

See you in May!