It's Friday...

But Sunday's Comin.

Today is Good Friday - the day we remember the sacrifice that Jesus chose in the cross.  I am so very thankful that Jesus chose to be obedient to The Father and die on the cross for my sins.  I found this video a couple of years ago, and maybe you've seen it or heard the sermon before but it is so powerful, and I love it so I am sharing it.  Feel free to share it with others, it is such a good testimony to the whole celebration of the crucifixion and the resurrection.  

What a blessing for us, that we know Sunday's comin.  Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend celebrating The Risen Savior!!

Springified Mantel

Well, all the chicks have returned to the nest and we are back in our routine.  The weather here has been like a yo-yo.  One day in the 70s next day in the 30s.  Since I can't dig in the dirt yet I decided to springify the mantel.  

I showed you last week my chevron backdrop project,

and showed you my burlap wreath here. 

The rest of the things on the mantel I already had.  

You'll see something different with the wreath - the accessory.  The cross was cute, but something about it was bugging me, so it found a new home.  

I just added it to the heart wreath that I keep on my door year around.  I can never get the color on the front door to photograph well, but it's the same as the inside here.

I was at Hobby Lobby looking for something to put in its place and the feather just spoke to me ;).  

Most of the time when I have a weird idea I tend to avoid it, but this time I went for it and I really like the look, it brings softness to it all.  

 Here it is all together again.

Simple enough that it will most likely stay like that for a while!!  Very excited about the chevron backdrop and the potential.  The command hook works perfectly to hold up the wreath - and I'm already thinking of other things I could hang on there when I get tired of the wreath!!

Blessings to you this week!  Take time and prepare your hearts for the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord!!

The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!"

Matthew 21:9 (NASB)

Linking up at The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday

DIY Chevron Backdrop

Okay, so like a week ago I shared with you my burlap wreath.  And, my frustration over how well it blended in with the brick.  I was so bummed and had hit a brick wall {ha!}.  Then, as I walking in the back yard, I spotted this.

This was our attempt at building a "door" for our small shed to keep the dog out.  It never stayed together the way we intended, the dog ran away :(, and we took it down.  I asked my husband not to throw it out last summer because "I might use it"... and here it has sat since then.  {have I mentioned our back yard needs lots of work?}

So, I started in tearing it apart.

And then cutting it up.  I decided I didn't really want it that long, so I thought I would cut the pickets in half.  But, then I didn't want only one end to have the points, so I decided to cut those off too.  And then I put it back together using the same 1x2's to anchor the pieces together.

Remember this wood wasn't perfect to begin with and it had been sitting outside for months through all the elements.  Perfectly imperfect!!

I had grand plans for this piece.  I love the look of chevron and you remember I shared this picture with you.  

source: MadeByGirl

So....I read several tutorials on how to make chevron stripes and finally thought I had it figured out....sorta.

For the background color, I used the white paint that I used to paint my built-ins, and doors for a cohesive look that I might be able to use year around.  Remember, I'm not worried about it being perfect so I just slapped the paint on there, not bothering with the holes, or getting complete coverage.  

Then for the chevron design.  I'm so not one for measuring more than necessary so I decided to use the planks for the vertical lines and use a yard stick for the horizontal lines.  Honestly I wasn't sure how wide I wanted the stripes to be.  I've told you before I'm a VERY visual person.  So I decided to just use the width of the yardstick to make horizontal lines across the whole piece.  I would decide after which ones to use. 

Then I brought out the tape and starting making the angles.  Simply choose how many "rectangles" wide you want the stripe to be and how many "planks" long you want the stripe to be and you have your angle.  Okay - seriously - I was majorly winging it.  :)  The taping part can get a little tricky - don't get in too big of a hurry.  I'm soooo impatient so yes this was hard for me, but luckily it was a small piece.  The big spaces are where you will paint, and the small spaces will stay the original color.  Make sure you press down the edges of the tape to prevent the paint from seeping under.

I decided to use the wall color that I used in my living room, again to achieve a cohesive look.  Again, not worried about perfection, {but not wanting the paint to bleed under the tape} I painted on a fairly light coat.  By the time I got to the end of the board I was almost giddy!!  I couldn't wait to pull the tape...

so I didn't!!!  Look at the finished product!!

It is exactly how I envisioned!!  

I was left with quite a few pencil lines on the white paint.  

Nothing that a damp rag won't remove, especially if you make your lines as light as possible.

Now, it is fairly heavy so I plan on mounting a nice picture hanger wire to the back.  My hubby had installed a screw into the brick years ago for me to hang things on.  Then I will use a command hook on the board to be able to hang things {like my wreath} on the front of the board.  Perfect imperfection!!  LOVE!! 

This will give you an idea of what it will look like.

I hope to get my mantel spruced up sometime this week, so I can share with you the complete look.  But, let's get real folks - it's spring break ;)!!

Blessings to you and yours!!

Linking up 


at Beneath My Heart


and here at

Time to Shine Party

and at It's Overflowing


and here

Memories and Family Recipes

I'm sure we all have those recipes that have been passed down from our moms or grandmas.  For me, when I make these I am taken back in time to when I would come home smelling it cooking, or helping in the kitchen to make it.  I love that feeling!  Just this week I made one of these - Goulash.  I know there are so many variations to this recipe out there, but this is the one I grew up on.  It is very simple and budget friendly, so I am sharing it with you today.

Goulash
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
2 cups pasta (I mostly use either macaroni or egg noodles, but really anything will work - except spaghetti)
Can of tomatoes (whole, diced, doesn't matter)
Can of tomato sauce
Green pepper
Onion
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef.  Cook noodles.  Drain noodles.  Combine all ingredients and simmer.  The longer you let it simmer the more the flavors combine.  Sometimes I will put it in a baking dish, (sprinkle grated cheese - optional) on top and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  I always add grated cheddar cheese at serving, but this is up to you.

Like I said, easy and budget friendly.  Enjoy and have a blessed weekend!!  

Burlap Wreath {Spring Craftiness}

Well, it's March and I finally took down my Valentine's decor this weekend :).  I have several projects that I have pinned that I wanted to craft for the spring.  I'm pretty sure these were there last year and I never got to them, so I was determined to at least get to one or two.  One of my favs are those cute burlap wreaths I have seen out in blog-land thanks to pinterest.  (I'm a pinterest addict - at least I can admit it.)  So I went to Hobby Lobby and bought my supplies.  Thankfully the ribbon was on sale 50% off.  As I've said before, I try not to buy many things at HL at full price because if you wait a week it will be on sale!

Then I checked out several of my pins to see how they went about making this cute.  There are two or three methods that I found and I tried a couple but this one was by far my favorite and pretty easy really.  Follow the link to Top This Top That and check out her tutorial.  

source: Top This Top That

All that is involved is weaving the burlap ribbon in and out of the metal frame.  Easy peasy - yes!!  The best thing is it doesn't have to be perfect, because it is simple to fluff and adjust as you work with it and even when it's done.  

I wanted to add a little color and something for spring/Easter.  I found this fabulous CORAL ribbon at HL. (I had to take a picture with my orange scissors because the color just wasn't coming through otherwise.)

I found some cute polka-dot ribbon too.  I also bought a wooden cross and some paint to match the ribbon, not exactly sure what I was going to do with all of it.  I started by trying to make a bow with the ribbon....I stink at making bows with ribbon that isn't wired so I scratched that idea.  That's when I came up with this.

I decided I wanted the coral ribbon to shine because it's awesome, so I painted the cross with the blue paint and then began layering the ribbon on the cross, simply hot-gluing it to the back.  {As a side note - I finally bought myself a big-girl glue gun!  :)  I have been using one of those mini low temp jobbies for years, and I was tired of the glue drying before I got things in place.  Sooo loving my new one!!}  I added a bow to the front just for cuteness.  

I knew I didn't want this accessory to be permanent on my wreath because I knew I would want to use it at other times, so I simply made a big pile of glue on the back of the cross and stuck a pipe cleaner in the center.  I then used the pipe cleaner to attach the cross to the wreath.

The plan was to hang this above my mantle as part of my spring decor.  After hanging it up there I realized that it blended in with the brick.  A.  Lot.  

So, I am thinking of ways to make it stand out.  A mirror?  A board behind it like this?  

source: MadeByGirl

Really love the chevron on this.  What do you think?  Ideas?  

Jump on over here to see what I came up with :)!!

Blessings and happy spring!!

Linking up at Tatertots & Jello



and It's Overflowing

and Countdown to Spring at Its So Very Cheri 



and to Carmel's Hop To It Challenge at Our Fifth House.

Worn Out

The first time I heard Tenth Avenue's North's new song "Worn" on the radio I thought - "this could be my theme song".  But, the more I talk to my momma friends the more I realize that it could be an appropriate theme song for all momma's out there.

Then today I heard it again, and right before they played it they shared this verse of scripture

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28 (NASB)

Why do I get so consumed with my to-do list and my worries that I forget He is waiting to give me rest?  We all need rest, but sometimes what we need more than physical rest is spiritual rest.

Have you ever noticed that when you are intentionally trying to align yourself with the will of God that you experience attack from the enemy even more.  Good grief.  My husband and I have been working on getting our family back on track and let me tell you, the devil does not like it!!  On one hand I'm encouraged because I know that means we are on the right track, but on the other hand I'm worn out and beaten down.  As I heard this scripture shared, tears welled in my eyes and in my head I said "duh!".  Why do I try so hard to do it all myself?  It's not even possible to do it all myself.  I must lean on Him if I expect to get it even close to right.

I wanted to share this song with you in case you haven't heard it.  I hope it brings you comfort and speaks to your worn out heart.  My favorite line is right at the beginning...."I'm tired. I'm worn.  My heart is heavy from the work it takes to keep on breathing."  Sometimes it seems to take so much work just to draw our next breath.  

Blessings to you and yours this weekend.  Hope to find some time next week to share some fun projects with you!!