Gettin' Ready...

With Tyrel and Lexie's open house approaching, I had to get to work.

I made banners...

and prepared to paint my bargain finds. (4 pieces for $4!)

Little did I know that a yellow jacket nest was under the bench that I innocently set the sander down on. The yellow jackets didn't like it and started buzzing around me. I tried to shoo them away... I wasn't there to bug them. And then one BIT me! That made me mad! Now I was out to get them. When it started to get dark and they were all coming back home, I sprayed the heck out of the nest and watched them drop and die!
Ha, ha... take that! 

Amber Munt generously let me borrow these awesome crates. I sprayed them down and got them ready for the open house.

After several coats of white paint..I was closer to being ready.

Originally Lexie and I talked about using old lace curtains/tablecloths on tables, to place centerpieces on. Then I saw this on Pinterest and thought I could recreate it. I cut LOTS of different sizes circles out and then hot glued them together (after hand sewing them together was WAY too tedious).

I had this idea. I wanted to put together each area and then take a picture, so I would know how it would look, before the day of. I thought this would help, so that others would know how to help me set up.

The week of the open house I invited Mom, Candice, Karen and Amber over to help me set the scenes. They were patient with me in my scatter-brained indecisiveness.

After several hours of talking, decorating, adjusting and readjusting, we had a good idea about the set up of the open house.

Thanks ladies for putting up with me in the HOT, HOT summer evening. Your support was invaluable to me.

I Tweaked!

I resisted.......... then I tweaked!

I talked to Treyson a few days earlier and mentioned how awesome I thought it was that he surprised me with putting away Halloween and decorating for Thanksgiving.
Then I told him that I'd like to do some decorating too. He said, "Why? It's already done." I told him it was fun for me and I didn't get to have any fun decorating for Thanksgiving.

He watched me as I tweaked and seemed ok with the changes.

Whew!

Tweak!

To tweak..... or not to tweak..... that is the question.

One morning, as I was still in bed, I heard Treyson rustling around. I didn't think much of it, until I emerged. When I came out, I noticed he had put away all the Halloween decorations and replaced them with our Thanksgiving decorations.

Awww, sweet boy.

I've left them untouched for about a week now (not usually in my nature), but I'm not sure if I can hold out much longer.... especially since we have family/friends coming to Thanksgiving dinner.

So maybe the question isn't, "to tweak or not to tweak?", but "how long do I wait UNTIL I tweak?"

Scarecrow!

My friend Jilene was asked to make a scarecrow for her daughter's school class. The donated scarecrows were to be auctioned off, to raise money for the school. Jilene didn't feel confident in her scarecrow makin' skills, so turned to me for a little inspiration and crafty know-how.

Initially, we were thinking of making a full-sized scarecrow. As I was researching and looking on the internet, I found many smaller versions.... scarecrows as plant pokes, pins, made with candy, as shelf-sitter decorations and holding baskets. Many of these were super cute, so I asked Jilene if the scarecrow HAD TO be full-size. She called the school and found out that making a smaller version would be just fine, so we shifted directions and came up with a plan.

This was our inspiration. I've had him for years...unfinished and kind of sloppy. He was useful in our scarecrow makin' though. I used his general size and shape to make a pattern.

I have since done a few finishing touches on him and he now looks great sitting on my shelf.
I found these old dish towels, yellowed and stained. I don't remember where they came from. Probably from a grandma hand-me-down fabric box. Even though they weren't in perfect condition, I thought they would make a great head/body for a scarecrow.
Scarecrows are supposed to me rustic and dirty, right?

I cut out the body, making the arms and legs really long, so they could wrap around a basket. Next, we ironed on a nose and patch cheeks, stitched a mouth and used buttons for eyes. Then I arranged some raffia around his head and pinned the 2 body pieces together. I sewed around the head and raffia hair, then around the rest of the body, leaving an opening for stuffing. I was pleased and surprised when the raffia hair actually worked. It's a little crazy and Jilene may decide to give him a haircut, but I like him.

Then it was on to making his clothing. I used our inspiration scarecrow to make a pattern, once again. I was able to leave some raw edges and not get too particular about things...because it was a scarecrow for goodness sake. We tied jute around the neck, waist, wrists and ankles and left some raffia sticking out for cuteness.

Here's George..our finished scarecrow. Jilene will probably fill the basket with apples, mini pumpkins or candy for the auction.

I was very please with how he turned out, especially because he was our own creation.

Would you bid on George?

Decor & Food

Here's all the "fancy" stuff we did to get ready for Abree's Fancy Nancy party...

Fancy flowers

These were so cute and so fun to decorate with. They are made by accordion folding tissue paper, securing with a wire and then a lot of careful fluffing.

The fancy table settings
The fancy front door
"Bonjour", because Fancy Nancy loves French (everything sounds fancy in French).

Fancy necklaces, boas, bracelets and hats strung about.

The fancy books that inspired the whole theme.

The fancy hat cake

(I'm not super proud of my cake, but with all the other fancy stuff around it, it looks ok.)

The fancy accessories that each guest was given to wear.

The fancy favor bag

"Merci!"

An eraser cell phone, candy ring, a princess Lip Smackers, stickers, necklace, candy bracelet (not shown) and bubble ring.

Abree's "Fancy Nancy" party dress and tiara. (Just like the one she wore in the book.) :)

Non-fancy glasses that the girls made fancy by decorating with sparkly stickers.

A Fancy Nancy picture the girls colored and decorated.

The fancy food

Finger sandwiches (with Fancy toothpicks), grapes, strawberry parfaits and pink lemonade.

We're ready.

Let's Par-tay!!!

Homecoming

After the run, when I walked in, I found a cleaned house and this...

A banner on the mantel, "Great Job Mommy!"
A drawing of the 5K course.

Gifts from my kids.

A fully decorated bedroom...

Ceiling fan streamers, balloons on the floor and sparkly garland on lamps and nightstands.

They had even baked cookies and put them in a cute jar.

The "Be a Wiener" dog was from Jason.

Do I have a great family, or what?!

What a sweet surprise.
Thanks kiddos!
I love you too !!!