Gardening...Brand new territory

My husband and I are slowly bringing our dream of having a garden to fruition.
I mentioned slowly-right? :)

Lots of research and planning going on...

Today I got two small starter packs and my helpers were abundant...

All they need to hear is "dirt" and they are willing...

We did some tomato's...
and some carrots.

I have to admit I am alllllll over the place with my many projects. Spring will do that to you...inspire you to the brink of overflowing.

Blessed Spring is here!

Sharing Stitches

I got the news yesterday that Sharing Stitches is available for pre-order on Amazon.
Isn't the cover beautiful?
I'm so excited I could squeal!!!

Into the Archives

Making a Mosaic Bunny:

Making an Easter Sign:

Painting Easter Eggs with the Kids Using Recycled Cardboard:

I can't believe Easter is less than a week away. I have been consumed with a lot of Spring Cleaning and big Home Projects...I can't wait to show you some pictures. The weather has been so beautiful that the kids and I don't want to come in! Welcome back sidewalk chalk and digging in the dirt!:)

I thought you might enjoy these three tutorials I did last Spring...
Happy Monday!
xo,
Chrissie

(I'm participating in Metamorphisis Monday) Check it out!

Green Jello

Mr. 20 Months is really into making messes...
but we prefer to call them "unexpected sensory experiences"
:)

Happy Spring! I'll be back soon to show you what I've been working on...
xo,
Chrissie

Yellow and gray anyone?

You already know how much I love red and aqua, but yellow and gray is my current new color combo. I've slowly been collecting these fat quarters over the last few months to make a quilt.
Anyone have any yellow and gray pieces not shown here? I would love to trade...
I'll trade fat quarters that you may be interested in or even items from my etsy shop...if you're interested email me at gracechrissie@yahoo.com

Happy Tuesday Friends!
xo,
Chrissie

Anniversary Weekend

This weekend was our wedding anniversary, and we went away by ourselves for the weekend! It was the first time in a few years, so we really enjoyed it.

This is a heart leaf we found on Friday while enjoying a nature trail.

I thought this tree was so beautiful. Hubby sweetly let me know it was red mold, but I still thought it was pretty...:)

We (I) like to take dorky self-portraits...it took us about five tries to get us both in the picture!

We saw a family of deer about half-way through the walk.

We spent the day yesterday at Epcot, where they were showcasing a flower and garden show. It was so gorgeous.

I loved these mosaic walls...

Sooooooo many flowers...made me dream of gardening and the possibility of planting annuals in our yard.

They had a lot of flower sculptures too. The butterfly one was my favorite.

Happy Anniversary to my honey...thanks for a wonderful, relaxing weekend. I love you!

Spring Fabric Art

I owe her a big thanks for the inspiration. She said to create some art regarding our favorite aspects of spring. I like prompts...it gets me going.
So I started doing a couple of quick sketches with spring images. Once I started I couldn't stop. The next thing I knew there was fabric, lace, hand embroidery, the sewing machine...I had a blast! It's kind of my loose interpretation of vintage meets modern...?

I made so many I thought I 'd put them in my etsy shop...

Thanks for looking, and thanks again Heather for hosting Paint With Me...I'm really enjoying it!

Don't forget to wear a little green...

I'm over at Little Bit Funky today giving a tutorial on the easy peasy silhouettes.

Happy Tuesday!:)

This and That...randomness

Did y'all have a nice weekend? The time change always messes me up for a couple of days, but I love the longer days. Spring is definitely in the air.

I am cranking out some spring items...and I'm having so much fun! I will be adding some items to my etsy shop in the next few days. Here is a little preview of something in progress...

Grandpa took this picture for me one day when he was watching the littles. Doesn't every kid love to wear Funderwear on their head? It's hilarious for them...

I made this coffee cup a few weeks ago at one of those pottery places. I want to go back and make more.

Did I tell you how happy we are to have Henry in our family? :)

This post is getting even more random...I just love this art piece. It hangs in our bathroom hall. I traded it out a few years ago at an art show. It's not signed and I can't remember the artists name!
Yesterday would have been my Dad's 63rd birthday. Last night right before our family reading time, I put in a DVD that was played at my Dad's funeral. It is a slide show of his life...photos from him as a baby and child, family life, him with friends, etc. I thought I was going to be strong, but by the end I was sobbing. My children rarely see my cry, but it was nice to have them comfort me. I think it is important to let our children see us sad sometimes, and to be able to talk with them about missing our loved ones. We talked about the glory of Heaven, and how one day we will all see him again.

It is a new day, the sun is shining...and did you know, You are Deeply Loved? :)

In His Grace,

Chrissie

Inspiration for Friday

1. Enchantment of the Pixies patchwork Dress, 2. Singer Print., 3. morning cup, 4. easter eggs mosaic, 5. globes, 6. Robin's Nest, 7. bracelets, 8. butterflies, 9. "285"


Oh...what a rainy and dreary morning here. I had a project I wanted to show you but the weather is preventing me from getting any decent photos, so I'll have to show them later. I woke up super inspired to make some new spring items! I got my sewing machine back from it's first-ever and much-needed tune-up, and my creating gears are in overdrive. I hope to carve out some creative time today.

Have an inspirational weekend friends!
Spring will be here soon!:)
xo,
Chrissie

A Little Paint

I may be the very last crafty person in the world to make some silhouettes, but it hit me this morning that I had five hooks above my bed...empty. I still need to make one more of our oldest.
It was way easier than I thought. I took a photo of the kids standing sideways, printed them at
3 x 5, and then cut them out. I turned them over and painted them black.

After they dried I just used Modge Podge to adhere them to these little thin wooden plaques I bought at Michaels for 79 cents. I didn't even paint the wooden backgrounds. Seriously, this project took about 15 minutes...but I do love the results!:)

After they dried I used my hot glue gun to put the ribbons on and place, and voila...

I've been working on a couple of big projects but I was so inspired by Simply Feather's Paint With Me series, that I had to make these this morning. Heather has a really cool blog and I love that she is encouraging us to be creative!

The Captivity of Activity

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galations 1:10

I started blogging a few years ago. I had the intentions of sharing my love of arts of crafts with like-minded people. I also wanted to be able to post pictures of the kids so family and friends could keep up with our busy lives.
After awhile I started using it as a means of expanding my home business through Etsy and to promote my books. Along the way I have met a lot of good "on-line" friends. I have yet to meet anyone in person (as of yet...)

However, I got very caught up in the boogy man of comparison through blogging. My internal dialogue has occasionally gone something like this~
So and so takes such beautiful photos...my photos suck!
So and so is homeschooling five kids and still manages to bring in thousands of dollars a month in etsy sales! My art must not be very good...
So and so is so in touch with their spirituality and is able to bring glory to God in all of their blog posts...I must not be a very good Christian.

YUCK! Double YUCK! I know I am not the only one who has let their little insecurities be influenced by the beauty and inspiration that other bloggers provide us with.
BUT, the good news is, I'm done with that talk!

Yesterday at my Beth Moore Bible study we talked about "The Captivity of Activity". She asked us to look into our hearts and ask ourselves what we are trying to prove and to whom. I realized that I stay very busy sometimes to keep up my house and my projects even when perhaps I should be taking a much-needed rest. Am I trying to impress people I don't even really know? Am I trying to be the best wife, the best mom, the best artist, the best housekeeper, the best fill-in-the-blank? At the expense of time that I could be spending with God, resting and enjoying things, or playing with my kids? What would be wrong with not doing anything one day?

I am accepted in the beloved.

Ephesians 1:6

With all that said, I still love blogging. I love to share my life and my projects. I love to read others blogs and be inspired by all of your projects, by your realizations and truths. You all have lifted me up, you have made me laugh, you have allowed me to want to be a better person.

Let's all make a pact-okay?
Let us all be our authentic selves. If that means blogging every day, fine. If it means blogging once a month, fine. Let's not compare ourselves to each other. We are all doing our best as we know it. Let's not leave comments for the sake of getting more popular or getting more "followers". Let's leave comments that are sincere and encouraging. Let us not feel like we have to "keep up" with the other bloggers who seem to have it all together. Let us remember that we all have special gifts and God-given talents...

xo,
Chrissie

Finished Quilt

I finished the binding and washed the quilt. It is full of imperfections but when I got it out of the dryer it was oh so crinkly that I forgot about all the little mistakes I made. I do love it, so I'm keeping this one for myself.
Here is the front... (sorry for the sun splotched photo)

and here is the back. I pieced it together to use scraps and I ended up liking it a lot.

I machine quilted it at home using a free form loop de loop. It is totally wonky and I love it. However, I was having tension problems and so there are a few spots on the back where the thread is loose.:( But like I've said before, there is no better way to learn than to just keep trying!

Here is a sneak peek at our bedroom with the new quilt on the end of the bed.. I've been doing lots of spring cleaning, painting, and repurposing. When I get a few more things finished, I'll show you the whole room.

Happy Monday!:)

xo,

Chrissie