FILE THIS!

In my attempt to organize the homeschool room/office I created these decorative and appealing (use me, use me, use me) file folders. It was simple, I used the old trace, cut and glue method. I used Microsoft Word to make the labels for the folders using clear labels.

I know they sell folders like this already made, but that just wouldn't be me, would it? They cost a lot and you do not have to fancy them up because they already are. So, for you frugal, organized and creative types...this project is for you!

Here are two quotes that I have hung up in the room as I attempt to organize:

"We don't need to increase our goods nearly as much as we need to scale down our wants. Not wanting something is as good as possessing it." - Donald Horban

"Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." - Albert Einstein

Whereas, the sign on the door reads:

DO NOT ENTER
Under Construction or Destruction?

REPURPOSED ROCK

I previously shared pictures of some of the rocks in my yard. I've always had a thing for rocks. The rock below was calling to me from the river last year on Father's Day. My husband has carted many a rocks home for me. This one had the perfect shape although I wasn't quite sure what I'd do with it...until Judah's first birthday (can you believe he is 1?). I used chalk to welcome guests. It looked so good, we have left it there.

My new God-made chalkboard! Love it, love it, love it!!!

Working on a post for Judah's first birthday...coming soon...

CHAIR MAKEOVER

I bought a dining room set from a friend who moved away several months ago. I have been having the chairs refinished two at a time. I could do this myself, but I really don't have time and this lady is doing a phenominal job including the piping (which I cannot do). She is also a dealer at One of a Kind and gave me a great price that I could not pass up.

This is the before.
And the after! I love this zebra print. We sprayed them with Scotchguard, so hopefully they will last a little while. Still debating whether I'm going to paint the table or wait till the kids get older...if the table lasts it that long.

What do you think?

A DECADE AGO

April 8th, 2000 at 6:30 in the evening Todd and I said, "I DO." It was a beautiful and very personal ceremony. Our little 3.5 pound Yorkie was our ring bearer, Todd's dad sang a beautiful song to us and Todd surprised me with Cross My Heart by George Strait. Todd is an incredible singer and it was awesome to have him singing to me. Did you see Pure Country? Check it out, George Strait sings it to his love interest in the movie - I bawled! My friend Malorie and her husband shared the Blessings of Grace, a personal biblical exhortation of Christ, husband, wife and marriage. It was all I ever dreamed of. It was not my first marriage, but it was my first marriage since becoming a believer in Jesus Christ. All my hopes were in the fact that Todd and I both loved God and I secretly hoped it would be enough and feared it wouldn't. Little did I know then!

So, much has happened since that day 10 years ago. We relocated to Georgia two months after our wedding. We've moved four times. There have been job changes, disappointments, blessings and 1-2-3-4 AWESOME kids.

Tonight, with four kids at the next table, we will celebrate not only 10 years of marriage, but 10 years of God's faithfulness, blessings, love and provision. I set up a card table in the den with the glasses that were served at our cabin in the mountains at our dinner for two. The clock represents the cabin's name "Time Stops Here" that we stayed in. The one thing not on the table during our honeymoon are the envelopes in the bottom right corner addressed to "mom and dad".

Music from our wedding will be playing while we eat and I asked Todd to bring home a VCR, so together with our precious children we can watch our wedding video.

I still do not know what our future holds (nor will I ever), but I know God has good plans for us, plans to give us a hope and a future. I've had so much revelation in the area of our marriage this last week, I could not possibly fit it in one post. Maybe more on that later, but for now we CELEBRATE!!!

We have been visiting a local church for their marriage series, "I Want a New Marriage" and although simple, it was incredibly powerful. On the third week of the message the pastor's wife shared from her perspective and I gained so much insight and "freedom" from that. You can listen to the podcasts here and I highly recommend it!

The following is printed with permission:

When I told the kids that I was going to take a shower, Isabella said, "Go ahead mommy, you deserve to take a shower after being married to daddy for ten years." Oh, out of the mouth of babes!

HOMEMADE BIRTHDAY GIFT

Joining Shanty 2 Chic's I Made it Without My Hubby!!!

Isabella loves horses and has plenty of them hanging around. I wanted her to have a special place to display them (and keep them out of Kaira's reach).

I found this shelf for $25 and knew it could be beautiful.

I sanded the shelf (just a little) and added wooden embellishments from Hobby Lobby and Michael's.

I spray painted it Heirloom White and sanded it again to distress it and used Minwax Red Mahogany and Ralph Lauren Smoke Glaze for added distressing and depth.

I have horse sillhoute frames that I made to match the shelf, but I'll include those in a separate post.

Once I give it to her I'll get another picture with all her horses on it.

MY OTHER LIFE...

You know me here as a daughter of God, a wife, a homeschool mom, a perpetual crafter and super saver. What I do not talk about here a lot is my business. I sell tea! Click the header above to see my "tea" blog and you can link to my store website from there.

It is pretty interesting the business I'm in, you see I have only been a tea drinker for three years, but God in His infinite wisdom brought me this opportunity two years ago. I am His representative in the "tea" world to minister to those He sends my way. I love it!

Just last week two coffee shops contacted me. What are you up to Lord? I do not know, but I'm going to enjoy the ride. My business plan unclear, my purpose - SURE, my focus HIM!

Come by and visit sometime!

IT ALL STARTED AT GOODWILL

I'm joining the Nifty Thrifty party at Coastal Charm...check it out to see the amazing things people find thrifting and the spectular things they do with them.

Remember this post where I shared the treasures I found at Goodwill? I'm going to reveal what I did with them.The picture above is from the Ballard Designs catalog and was my inspiration. It came with a $45-$60 price tag depending on the size. I love the boxwood look, but from the posts I've seen where people recreate this I know that the tedious process is not for me. Besides I love moss, it's all over my yard.


We live on a solid piece of granite, the stones below are from our property when they blasted the granite to build the house. They are all over the yard. I love rocks too! Because we are on granite the drainage in our yard is terrible, so there is a lot of moisture, hence the moss...EVERYWHERE. I could probably do a whole year of science with the kids studying the various types of moss we have.


Okay, onto the project. I started with three varying sizes of Christmas balls I got 50% off after Christmas - total $5.75. Looks like I'm setting up a solar system.


I spray painted them black, so the bold colors would not show threw if I was not meticulous in covering them.

Now for the moss - $4.99 a bag at Hobby Lobby.

The finished product - I LOVE THESE!!!

Who knew moss balls could be so photogenic?
The urns were about $ 7 for all three at Goodwill

Total project cost $18 not including spray paint and spray adhesive.