Monogrammed Spring Tulip

Hi all!
Are ya'll enjoying the longer days
and warmer weather as much as we are?
One word,
GORGEOUS! :)
Spring has arrived like a breathe of fresh air,
and not a moment too soon.

As part of my Spring has Sprung frame of mind,
I've been adding color to my blah winter decor.
So while on a recent trip to the Dollar Store
I spotted the perfect addition to my project list.
A simple, cute and PINK Tulip for one dollar, SWEET!

Here's how I made this tulip blossom.
I started by simply tying a green ribbon
around the top to use as a hanger.

I wanted to add a custom monogram by adding a fabric H.

I even used my Cricut,

but it didn't turn out so well.

So I compromised by attaching 

some extra ribbon to add color.

Here's my spring tulip now,

bringing bright cheer to my front door.

I liked the results, so I lived with it for awhile.
Until, I came across this...

the monogram I needed to complete my project,

for a $1.50! :)

I promptly brought it home and got to work.

The wood was a bit rough so I sanded it.

Then I painted my H black with craft paint.

Next I traced the H onto my toile scrapbook paper.

Oh scrapbook paper, 

I can find a million ways to put you to good use. ;>

I used Modge Podge to attach the paper.
To make the edges crisp,
I cut it a little big and sanded the extra paper off the sides.
To finish it off I topped it with a glossy spray acrylic.

Once my H was dry it was time to move on.
I attached my H to the tulip with hot glue.
Then I tied a ribbon through the tulip
and around the H to secure it.
And of course I added on some extra ribbon,
for color and FUN. :)

I gotta tell ya,
the finished product made me smile!
Here it is, back out on the front porch.

Now my toile flower hanger
has found a friend
AND my front door is balanced.

Hooray for thrifty decor, color
and SPRING.
I love the way my monogrammed tulip turned out!
So, what do you think??
I'm linking up with The DIY Showoff,
A Soft Place To Land,
My Backyard Eden,
and Today's Creative Blog,
so click on over for more project inspiration.

Saturday, Baseball & SUN

Hi all!
I hope you're having a fabulous weekend.
As you know James' baseball season is in full swing.
With games starting in April,
our coach wanted to get in a little extra practice.
He scheduled a couple of scrimmage games for Saturday.
Which was wonderful for me.
It was too gorgeous outside to spend my day cleaning.
Which is exactly what I would have guilted myself into doing. ; >

We started our day by all sleeping a little late.
Andy did yard work,
and might I add did a mighty fine job.
The boys worked in their rooms,
which is a never ending task.
While Mama did a little ADD house spiffing special.

We showered, dressed, packed up some snacks,
picked up a friend and headed off to play ball.

We played out in the county
so the facilities weren't the greatest.
Let me tell you that first team had it going on.
Our tired, sun wilted boys got spanked!
No worries though,
after a snack and pep talk,
they were ready to go again.
They won their second game 16-7.
Hooray for going out with a victory!

I gotta tell ya that after playing Saturday's games
our kids are gonna be ready for anything!

Here's James in all his catching glory.

Remember last year when he called it
being the BEHIND CATCHER?! :)

Now here's the best part.
Since our coach is a good friend
and his family are our vacationing buddies,
we took the opportunity to enjoy a good dinner together.
It was quite a drive but well worth it.
We devoured dinner at Top Of The River.
Fried catfish, shrimp scampi & crab claws.
YUM!!!

On a side note:
Sunburn, dehydration, exhaustion
and fried foods DO NOT mix.
This sweet Mama ended up with
a version of dinner in her bed last night.
James response,
"Mama, those fried pickles didn't taste so good that time."
Poor fella's feeling a little better this morning.
We stayed home from church just in case.
No need to share that kinda love!


Thanks for stopping by for the recap
of our Saturday, Baseball & SUN.
Have a beautiful day! :)

My God Is Bigger Than The Boogy Man

"God is bigger than the boogy man,
HE's bigger than Godzilla 
OR
the monsters on T.V."
Veggie Tales

Good morning all!
Do you ever have something happen
that totally quakes the ground you stand on?
Like you do a double take,
right before your ears start ringing?!

Well I had that kinda afternoon yesterday.
Nothing tragic,
but I certainly felt the earth beneath me rumble.
That's when I felt GOD's presence.
He called me to HIM.
Reminding me that everything in my life
is a good and perfect gift from HIM.
My husband?
A blessing from GOD.
My children??
Are actually HIS children.

It's at times like this that I'm reminded
of WHO's really in control,
cause it sure ain't this gal. ; >

Thank you LORD for watching over and protecting me.
I find comfort in knowing that nothing comes to me,
that hasn't come through YOU first.
You are my rock, my salvation,
and YOU are bigger than the boogy man!

Simple Kid's Wall Decor

Hi all!
I've been meaning to share this project I did last weekend.
I was in the mood for a quick and simple craft.
I looked for inspiration in my craft supplies.
When I came across two wooden J's,
I knew I'd found what I was looking for!

I started by painting the sides of the J.

Then I traced and cut out a J on scrapbook paper.

I modge-podged my scrapbook paper in place.

Next I topped it with a layer of clear spray acrylic. 

Here are both of the boy's J's drying.

Because I'm OCD I had to make sure the back was pretty too.

And one last time,
here's James' bright colored J
& Joseph's school themed J.

I'm going to hang James' over his bed
and Joseph's with his football team pictures.
Speaking of hanging...
I tried stapling a ribbon on the back to hang it from.
The staple went through the front.
Then I tried to attach a picture hanger
but that didn't work out so well either.
SO, I'm planning to drill a small hole
on the back to hang them from.
Whew, who knew hanging my decor 
would be the hard part?? 
I'll post pics once I have them hung in the boys' rooms.

Please tell me, what do you think...
Did you think my simple
& quick project turn out too cute?
Should I make an H to hang on the front door??
Oh so many projects, so little crafting time! ; >
I'm linking up to the DIY Showoff
and Today's Creative Blog.
Click on over if you're looking for even more inspiration!

Spending Saturday Skating

Hi all!
I hope you're enjoying a rainy, lazy afternoon.
Yesterday was bea-u-ti-ful!
The sun and warm weather was perfect.
Andy & Joseph spent the morning doing yard work,
while James and I did some house work.
After lunch it was time to shower
and head out to a birthday party.

Drake is James' bestest buddy.
They've been best friends since their days
together at the Breastfeeding Support Group.

If I've said it once I've said it a million times,
those boys are like peas & carrots!

They get along so well and watch out for each other.
Needless to say we were excited
to celebrate Drake's special day with him.
And the best part?
It was a skating party!

Once we got settled in the boys laced up their skates

and hit the floor.

Sometimes, quite literally!

We totally enjoyed watching the boys skate.

That's when I got a wild hair,
borrowed a pair of socks,
and traded in my Keen Mary Jane's for skates.

Yep, that's right all those hours spent skating
as a child came right back to me. :)

After a few shaky laps,
I convinced Andy to join me.

I don't think we'll be getting speed skates anytime soon,

but we sure did make some great memories together!

Balanced Parenting

Hi all!
I hope your having a spectacular day.
It's a bit gloomy here but after all the gorgeous weather we've had,
I've decided I can handle a few gross days.
We had ball practice last night so really,
I'm just glad to be inside.
Speaking of ball practice,
Andy & I had a great conversation on the way home and I just had to share.

First let me say that with Joseph approaching the high school years,
we've had LOTS to discuss.
Really, you should hear Andy and I get going.
The wisdom we throw out during these conversations is quite comical!
But, our talks have also clarified our parenting philosophy.

Which leads me to last night's quote from yours truly.
"The key to parenting is to raise your child with love & attention balanced with consistency & discipline."

Now let's break it down.
If I only parented my children with love and attention,
I would raise spoiled brats!
They'd make the rules.
I would lavish them with their heart's desire.
They'd have great self esteem but lack balance.
My role wouldn't be that of a parent
it'd be more like a friend.

If I only parented my children with consistency and  discipline,
I'd have little soldiers.
They would have routine & respect,
but they'd lack a soft place to come home to.
In this situation my role would be like that of a drill sargent.

It's important to remember that we're only entrusted with our children for a short time, and really, they belong to God all along.

So, give your children your time, attention, affection and make those fun memories.
Then balance it out with structure, responsibility, respect and consequences.
You'll be doing your best to raise well rounded adults.
Your child and the rest of the world will thank you. :)

Plate Holder Paradise

Hi all, happy Sunday!
I hope you've had a fabulous weekend. :)
Saturday, while I taught my Breastfeeding Class,
the boys caught a movie with Franny.
They saw Alice In Wonderland and gave it rave reviews.
But my favorite part of the weekend?
Daylight Savings Time, HOORAY!!!
Girls you know this means flip-flop 
weather is right around the corner! 

Now on to my post.
This afternoon my  handsome handyman hubby made me smile.
How you ask?
He took this...

A fabulous set of plate holders
given to me by Gigi.
He worked and worked.

Measured, marked and drilled.
Just so when he hang them.

They'd look just so!

I'm in LOVE!!!
I feel like such a grown up.
Just think of all the ways I can use them.
I can even decorate for different holidays.

I looked for a before picture but luckily sadly
there was none to be found.
So, we'll just enjoy the after picture together.

Thanks honey for coming to my rescue.
You're the greatest!

And on a side note,
thanks to Frandaddy for loaning me your laptop charger.
My original charger was laid to rest yesterday.
Umh yeah, right before I taught my class
using a Power Point presentation on said computer. :)
$79 seems like a small price to pay for a charger
when you compare it to being without your laptop.
And honestly, how's a girl to blog without her Mac??
I had no idea how fast I'd go into withdrawals.
So thanks again Franny & Frandaddy,
without you I'd be in full blown twitches waiting for the UPS man.
Whew, that was a close one! ;>

A Family Fun Day, Sunday

Hi all!
This past weekend the Hinson four shared
a Family Fun Day, Sunday.
We did our normal early church service,
followed by Sunday School.
Joseph even helped us teach our class. :)
Then we ran by the house to walk the dogs and freshen up.

Once we were back in the car we headed to Decatur.
Our lunch time destination?
Fulin's Chinese Restaurant!
The boys ate with chopsticks and we all
day dreamed about our trip to China.
We even discussed where Emily Margaret will be sitting when we eat out.
I declared that she'd have to sit between me and Joseph.
Could you imagine it any other way?!

After lunch we spent a little time and money at Target.
James got a pair of high top Chuck Taylor's & a new figure,
Joseph got a new Wii game
and little Miss Emily Margaret got a Monchhichi & a board book about shapes.
James told me that it was a good thing he & Joseph got prizes too,
because it just wouldn't be fair for Emily Margaret to be the only one to get something.
That's when I reminded him that his Daddy picked out his shoes first,
and that's why Joseph & Emily Margaret both got something.
"Oh yeah" he smirked. ; >

Our last stop for the day was at the Huntsville Civic Center.
Big Daddy treated us all to tickets to the Wizard of Oz as part of our Valentine's Day.
It was a fabulous performance!
James kept asking if Toto was a real dog.
Joseph loved the witches' fireworks.
Here's the boys after the show.
Can you tell that James' was so over being dressed up??

Once the performance ended, we headed home.
We got our baths & in our jammy tales,
ate leftover Chinese food and watched the boys play their new game.
Yep, I'd say that was the perfect ending to a perfect day! :)

Burlap Lamp?!

Hi all!

Have you seen all the fabulous burlap decor going on lately?

I'm always so impressed with trash to treasure projects,

so today I'm sharing one of my on.

Here's what happened,

Saturday was beautiful, too beautiful to stay inside cleaning.

So I had Andy pick me up a can of spray paint, 

& I dug out a lamp I'd been planning to redo for some time.

I wish I had the before picture,

but since I don't  just picture glass, shiny gold & h-o-m-e-l-y.

I'd ripped it apart months ago 

so all that was left was to tape it off and paint.

The sunshine combined with the paint fumes were invigorating!

James said Mama, this reminds me of the summer. :)

I gave everything a quick layer of brushed Nickel.

Once my paint was drying I moved on to the lamp shade.

I picked up a yard of burlap for $2.47 at the Wally World.

To cover the shade I cut my fabric in strips.

I started by tucking the sides in between the white fabric.

Note: I am certain that this is not the official way to recover a lamp shade. 

I tried to secure the fabric with my hot glue gun.

Before I knew it, I was frustrated & it just wasn't working.

I'd already cut my fabric so I was limited on how to proceed.

It was Saturday afternoon and I refused to make a return appearance to Wally World for more fabric!

That's when I decided to put my Crop-a-dile to use.

When I bought it the package claimed to work on fabric,

so I figured it was worth a try.

After much wrapping, stretching & wrestling I had my fabric secured.

Next I moved on to reassembling my lamp.

Let me say it was so much more fun taking it apart.

After I figured out how it went,

I added a little hot glue to hold everything back in place.

Once I had my lamp put back together I took it back outside.

I added my lampshade and trimmed up the top layer of burlap.

Note to self: Working with burlap is really messy.

Finally, here's the BIG burlap lamp reveal. :)

This is Andy's bedside table so it's only fitting that his lamp have a beachy vibe.

And  I couldn't help but add a little accessory to the shade.

Looking back on the project there are a lot of things I would have done differently.

But, I'm happy enough to leave it as is for now.

Note to Andy: Thanks honey for not falling over in laughter when I told you I was redoing your lamp with burlap.

You're the best!

So do tell, what do you think??

Are some things better off without burlap

or is anything fair game?! ;)

I'm linking up with Today's Creative Blog, The DIY Project Parade & Somewhat Simple so don't stop here, click over and check out what the other gals are up to!

I Cured the Mid-Week Blahs Part 2

Hi all!
I felt it only fitting to give you
part 2 of yesterday's story.
You see I did some shopping, house keeping
and then headed off for our Wednesday Lenten Service.
Now while my trip to Tuesday Morning's may have lifted my mood,
my time of worship refilled my heart.
My sweet hubby posted about last night's message
on his blog, Life Advice.
Check it out, it'll do your heart good
to find out the similarities between Jesus & Chess. :)