fridays unfolded #12

do you ever have weeks
that you are almost taken by surprise
by time's swiftness?

well

that's me today
because
it just cannot
be friday already

seriously

but amidst the chaos of life

new expanders
middle-o-the-night pukers
sleepovers
work
homeschool
meetings
unwelcome snow and ice

it is
in the words of a famous martha

a good thing

to meet you here each week on


and last week
with the highest ever
number of links

y'all proved your mettle with some fantastic ideas
like

kathy from dandelions and dustbunnies
who made these adorable dipped oreos

i'm rather partial to all things mint
and this is something i will have to try soon

and

mary from mary's meanderings
who showed off her lovely ruffley crafted bag

that's even reversible!

mary
if you're listening
i think you need to make another one for a giveaway
on your blog
(hint hint)

then there's

jennifer from life, crafts and whatever
who made a crate and barrel knock-off pillow
here's the inspiration


and her brilliant concoction


not to mention

heidi at chick hardware
who gave a plain jane little mantel clock

a chic new makeover with a lick of paint


which has sent me rummaging through my attic
in search of an old wedding gift clock to redo

and how colorful and creative
are these easter eggs that lucy from craftberry bush?



i bet she had finger cramp for a week
but totally worth it

and last
but certainly not least
i must include this recipe for homemade samoas
from kim at too much time on my hands


these look mouthwatering
and i can never
ever
make them
because no one else in my house will eat coconut
and i would have to eat them all myself

which would be bad

be sure to click on these features and visit these lovely ladies
to read more of their posts
you will thank me for it

if you were featured this week
help yourself to a button


and now
it's time
to show us what's unfolded for you this week
or last week
or
well...you get the idea

the rules are simple:

follow stuff and nonsense
(and leave a comment so i can visit you back)

link up your recipe, sewing project, craft, poem, essay, tutorial, etc...whatever 'unfolded' for you this week

be sure to link back to your post and not just your url

visit a few of the other links and leave a comment
(it's just polite)

please post my button
on your blog so others can join





after you link up here
i would love for you to join my friends
heather and vanessa over at the picket fence
for their



and courtney from french country cottage
for



happy linking!

painting the lady

this summer is the year of

painting the house
(the size of the font is directly proportional to the size of my dread)

if we can afford it
we will hire this job out

if the estimates come back
(as i fear they will)
in astronomical figures

we will attempt this job ourselves

in the meantime
we

and when i say 'we'
i mean
mostly me

are thinking lots and lots about

paint colors


here is our big blue house


and since i am tired of saying

big blue house

we will be moving in a different direction with color

here are some inspiration photos i found
to help us consider our options

i like the grey here
but we will be going with white trim
and black doors
rather than ivory

centersandsquares.com

this is a little light

but closer to what we're thinking

houseseofminniapolis.com

this one's just to see if you're paying attention

eyefetch.com

i adore a white clapboard house

but wont' it look grimy all the time?

meetup.com

this lovely abode first caught my eye

when it was featured in 'country living'

and 

'country home' magazines

gorgeous

countryliving.com

is this green or grey?

victorianhomes.com

getting closer to the greige color i'm liking

but still too grey

mohpg.com

here is the closest i could find to the color palette in my head

plushemisphere.com

we have some local friends who chose colors i really like

so i need to head out to their house to snap some pictures

and write down paint colors

it's such a big project

did i mention that i'm dreading it?

but oh

will it be wonderful to have it done

so

if you had to choose one of these photos

which would be your favorite?

random queries

why is it still so cold outside?
i should not

should not

still be waking to hard frosts out my window

we actually had a dusting of snow
two nights ago

we get this



when i'm dreaming of this

i just wanna put my winter clothes away for awhile

and
while we're not at all on the subject

why can my twelve year old still not make it to the toilet 10 feet away from his bed before upending the contents of his stomach?

in the middle of the night

and how does one get vomit out of carpet


completely?
twelve years and i'm still scrubbing


how exactly am i going to put together a presentation for our women's retreat in 18 days that women will actually want to attend?

i'm getting nervouser and nervouser

how i am going to get back on the wagon and lose these vicious 10 pounds before summer?
seriously irritated by this one
i start the day with the best of intentions

only

i am derailed at the first twinge of temptation


seriously
my tight pants are bumming me out

no pun intended

fridays unfolded #11

i can't tell you how much i enjoy
meeting here each friday with all of you

every week
i read your posts filled with fresh ideas
for celebrating special days
making delicious treats
encouraging one another with scripture
making a house a home

and i want to thank you
for sharing these bits and pieces of yourself
with us here on


like

ange at love from my kitchen
who showed off her amazing playroom makover
that went from this


to


click her link above to see more of this fun and organized space

kristi from the speckled dog
saw the potential in a garish thrift store urn
to be something lovely


from cheap to chic in the space of a day

here's one i've been telling folks about all week
katie from little things bring smiles
shared a tutorial for a spring wreath make from

split peas

uh huh
i just said split peas


you better believe i ran right out to the local grocery store
to snag some for myself

landeelu from landee see landee do
took her staircase from beige to bling
with paint and a homemade stencil

before


after


all while listening to 'pride and prejudice'
now that's multitasking

heather
half of the beautiful team that makes up
at the picket fence
shared some yummy recipes for
celebrating st. patrick's day with corned beef

reuben pie


corned beef hash and fried egg on toast


these look delicious
and i don't even like corned beef

and finally
lisa from grey luster girl
showed off a simple and pretty
circle skirt she made for her little 'uns
to wear on st. patrick's day


adorable

if your blog was featured this week
you are welcome to grab a button
to post



and now
it's time
to show us what's unfolded for you this week
or last week
or
well...you get the idea

the rules are simple:

follow stuff and nonsense
(and leave a comment so i can visit you back)

link up your recipe, sewing project, craft, poem, essay, tutorial, etc...whatever 'unfolded' for you this week

be sure to link back to your post and not just your url

visit a few of the other links and leave a comment
(it's just polite)

please post my button
on your blog so others can join





after you link up here
i would love for you to join my friends
heather and vanessa over at the picket fence
for their



and courtney from french country cottage
for



happy linking!

a dropcloth pillow

first
thanks to all of you who left sweet comments yesterday
on my new glasses post

dorothy parker was famous for saying

'men seldom make passes
at girls who wear glasses'

but
fortunately
in my case
the hubs would disagree

today

since i finally found my camera loaded with photos from two weeks ago which was 'lost' but found immediately by my 6 year old son who suspiciously knew exactly where to look when a one dollar reward was offered and whose mug was all over several new frames on said camera

i can finally upload and show you a pillow i recently made

i started by eyeballing my canvas dropcloth
(bought from home depot for $5)
and cutting out my rectangles

am i the only one who never measures things like this?


then i cut my strips to make pleats

crookedly

sigh

so i recut
a little straighter and started pinning the pleats

if you are observant
which i am not
you will notice that i pleated in opposite directions

clearly
i'm no sewing pro
but i'm guessing y'all figured that out by now

i sewed it all together
(leaping for joy when it came out the way it had looked in my head)
leaving a small opening for stuffing

turned it inside out
and started stuffing

and stuffing

and...stuffing

after pinning closed my opening
i stitched it shut

i wanted to leave the ends of the pleats unfinished
but not so much that it would fall apart
so i sealed the ends with fray stop

and here it is
finished and sitting atop the loveseat in our bedroom

simple and pretty
(and inexpensive)

i still haven't worked up the courage to attempt
a full slipcover for my ugly red chair

but if i ever do
it will be made of this same canvas dropcloth fabric

do you use it for sewing projects?