Pillowcase Dreams

What a busy weekend I had.......

We got to spend some time with Gretel on the open roads. Gretel is, for those who don't know, our recently purchased 1949 Chevy 3100 pickup truck. (I will have to do a story on her real soon.) Anyway, it was Father's Day on Sunday and after our morning church service, we relaxed at home for awhile before doing some work on Gretel. She has a good bit of restoration still to be done, but its exciting to drive down the road in her. No radio, no AIR, no electronics - just the open road and a really cool old truck!

On my quest to return to crafting (and blogging) I have been looking all over the internet - ok, Pinterest for the most part - to find fun things to work on and write about. So my newest fixation is pillowcases. I have a TON of these things in my house. With 5 beds, and a grandmother who enjoyed embroidering anything she could put in her hands - pillowcases are in abundance around our place. So why not put some of them to a different use.

Here are some of the ideas I found. Have you tried any of these? Have an idea of your own you want to share? Please let me know!! I will share some of my completed projects as soon as I get to them. :)

Have a Blessed Week!

Julie

{CHAIR POCKET}

{PILLOWCASE BAG}

{HALF APRON}

{DAINTY HAMPER}

{PILLOWCASE CURTAINS}

{PILLOWCASE SKIRT}

{HALTERNECK SHIRT}

{PILLOWCASE ADULT DRESS}

{UPCYCLE TOTE BAGS}

Sharing with:
The Dedicated House
Dwellings
BNOTP 
Boogieboard Cottage 
ISBMTF
Homestead Barn Hop
Modest Mom Blog

20+ Ways To Use Your Pool Noodle

The amazingly fun Pool Noodle has made its 2014 appearance!

I have located over 20 fun & unique uses for those noodles that I can’t wait to try and you won’t want to miss!! Please, tell me what you think. Do you have a fun idea that you would like everyone to see? If so, please share it with me and I will be happy to add it in!

Happy Noodling! 

DIY Easy Pillows

Have sewing machine, will use it! Yeap, that's me folks. But where or when will I ever find the time? Between working a 40+ hour week in the office, household & wifey duties, running around with a young adult preparing for college, and 3 younger children keeping me hopping - how exactly does one find the time to be crafty?

If you have a secret, please let me know; but, in the interim I have located some pretty nifty "Easy Sew/No Sew Pillows" that I am itching to try out. I think these will all make adorable accent pillows for the dorm room we will be decorating in just a few months. 

{Easy Sew Pillows}

{Sweater & Shirt Pillows}

{Easy Cloth Napkin Pillows}

{Scarf Pillow}

{Easy Pillowcase Slipcover}

{Body Pillow Pillowcase}

{Sunburst Pillow}

{Sprocket Pillow}

Sharing at:

The Dedicated House 
The Chicken Chick
VGM206
Boogieboard Cottage
Homestead Barn Hop
Modest Mom Blog

National Sweet Tea Day...

 

 

In honor of National Sweet Tea Day (yesterday, yes I realize I am a day late) I decided to share some of my favorite sweet tea recipes I have collected. Being from the South, we like - no we LOVE - our sweet tea!

 

Recently, we held our Annual Ladies Tea at church. I had a great time designing the centerpiece and table setting and it was a blessing to serve my friends and family at the table I hosted. A truly wonderful day of love & fellowship.

I called it "Shabby Chic"

Although it it was a miserably wet, rainy day here in South Louisiana, of which we are used to down here, it was a wonderful day of friends, family & community with over 125 ladies in attendance. We served a variety of teas; cold & hot, plain and flavored. Also on the menu were traditional scones, finger sandwiches (the walnut & grape chicken salad was to die for) and some fabulous desserts.

It's summertime...... and nothing says summer in South Louisiana like sweet tea!!

 

{Southern Sweet Tea}

 

 

{Sweet Peach Tea}

 

 

{Mango Ice Tea}

 

 

{Sweet Raspberry Ice Tea}

 

 

{Sweet Wildberry Ice Tea}

 

 

Try one. Try them all. Tell me what you think!

 

 

 

Blessings From the Deep South

 



 

Time to Listen Up

Land of the Free, Because of the Brave: Opposition to the Release of Gitmo Prisoners

During the final question and answer round for the Miss USA title, Miss Louisiana, Brittany Guidry, responded  to a question about the release of five Gitmo prisoners in return for suspected deserter Bowe Bergdahl: 

Q: In recent weeks the U.S. has released five detainees from Guantanamo in exchange for one U.S. soldier held captive in Afghanistan. The U.S. policy is to leave no soldier behind. Do you think it’s fair to sacrifice or swap lives in order to uphold this policy?

A: I am glad that we got our guy back, however I do not feel it is right that we subject ourselves to these acts of terrorism. I do agree with our guy being back, but however, I do not think we should subject ourselves.

Proud of my Louisiana Girl!!! Geaux Brittany!

Of course, Judge Jeanine Pirro doesn't do such a bad job herself!

America: Land of the Free, because of the Brave!

And the mom of the year award goes to......

I've done some pretty strange things in my life. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT in line for sainthood by ANY stretch of the imagination, my husband & I fall short ALL the time in our parenting decisions and our skills are often those of first time parents of 6 children (two whom are grown with their own children). BUT, sometimes you just have to shake your head and think "What were they thinking?"

A Tennessee woman has set the Internet on fire when photos of her walk down the aisle at her wedding started spreading . In an effort to make her newborn baby part of her wedding day, Shona Carter-Brooks tied her 1-month-old daughter, Aubrey, to the back of her dress and dragged her down the aisle. It is actually a little less brutal than it sounds, as you can see in the photo above, but still…why?!

I'm all for including your children in your special day, and I'm also all for doing whatever you want when it comes to your wedding, because it is your wedding. But this is obviously something that Shona and her husband, Johnathan, could have & SHOULD have taken a second to think about before deciding that yeah, this would be special and not at all hazardous or upsetting for guest.

Facebook

While the couple’s friends and family have jumped to support their decision to trail their baby behind them in the ceremony, others have called for Child Protective Services to become involved— and honestly, I can’t say I blame them. There was no reason to exclude the baby from the ceremony, but putting her on the train puts her in harm’s way—all it would take is someone to trip or stumble, and poor defenseless baby would have been stepped on and seriously hurt or worse! 

To each their own, I guess, and I thank God I've never done something to be publicly ridiculed for with my children, but here are a couple other ways she could have included her baby into her special day:

1. Carried her down the aisle
2. Pushed her in a stroller down the aisle
3. Held her during the ceremony
4. Have her husband hold the baby as they both walked down the aisle
5. Had her pulled down the aisle in a buggy/wagon
6. Literally anything else besides tying a 1-month-old to the back of a wedding dress and dragging her down the aisle

If your children were at included in your wedding ceremony, how did you include them in the festivities? Would you ever consider something as extreme as carrying your baby in your bridal train?

I welcome your comments, but please be tasteful!