Apple Picking

Have I mentioned yet that I love the colors green an red together?

Off they go into the orchard to pick yummy apples for me. Apple sauce, apple crisp, apple pie, cooked apples, baked apples...I can hardly wait!

Vintage Kitchen Curtains

I made these vintage kitchen curtains out of a yard of fabric purchased from an antique store for only $2. The fabric was hemmed on all 4 sides, so I cut it in half, hemmed the two raw edges, and then clipped them to my curtain rod.

Click here to see more great vintage thingies!

Eeek!

I hate rodents of any sort! But I love my son, so I told him, "Yes" when he asked me to make these little mice puppets featured in our Disney Magazine.


They were fairly simple. Can you tell that I have a little miss "I-do-myself!" in the bunch? I have to admit, this is very difficult for me to deal with. I can't help but get right in there and fix, I mean, help her with her little craft projects.

What you'll need:

Glue, scissors, pink yarn or string, black marker (for the nose), googly eyes, pink construction paper for ears, and blue, gray or brown construction paper for the body.

...and then maybe a little dose of patience if your toddler insists on gluing the eyes on by himself. :)

A Work in Progress

When we moved into our house last year, I found this old cabinet in the basement. I thought it would be fun to fix it up and use it in my kitchen. Not having lived in snow country before, I dragged in outside in mid-November and began stripping the paint. Needless to stay, it snowed the next week. In fact, it was the worst winter this area had seen in over 50 years. We had snow until April, so I had to put my little project on hold.

We're not quite finished with it yet, but here's a picture of what we've done so far. The cabinet will divide our kitchen area from the dining area. I'll place barstools on the other side of it.

I love the linoleum that the previous owners used for shelf liners.

And this will be the finishing touch. My husband found this on Craigslist. This red Formica table with metal trim will be used as the counter top! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!!

Early Risers

If you're a mother of young children, most likely you're an early riser. I used to like to get up before my children, but since we've moved to a house with creaky hardwood floors, it's nearly impossible to move about freely in the morning without waking up any of the little ones. I've tried a few times, but each time I do, I wake somebody up and spend my entire quiet time keeping him or her in the bedroom. Now I wake up when my children do, but I feel like I rush to get breakfast on the table. I enjoy being in my kitchen and I love to make special meals for my family, but when I rush through this time, I know it sets a negative tone in our home for the whole morning.

This past week over at The Homespun Heart, Monica posted instructions to create a great recipe book and I made one specifically for breakfast recipes. Waking up before my family, providing a nice breakfast for them and even planning the night before have been on my mind a lot lately. What a blessing it was to read her post based on Proverbs 31:15: "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls." It's just what I needed!

Click here to see her instructions and to download her cute recipe cards.

Co-op or Not?

Last night I attended a Home school Co-op meeting in town, because I'll be teaching my oldest son for Kindergarten this year. Several parents get together during the school year and offer their gifts and talents to the other families in the co-op and teach mini-classes once a week. You can imagine how vast the offerings might be from year to year. As I sat there reading through a list of sample classes, I couldn't think of any one thing that I excel in and could offer to teach to others. Some of these classes include: pottery, scrap booking, music, painting, auto mechanics, wood working, science, calligraphy, cake decorating, P.E., etc. I taught elementary school for several years, but that, by no means, is artsy and creative.

I have lots of interests and I piddle around here and there, but I guess I never stuck with anything long enough to have become really good it. Sorry, Mom, about the piano lessons, and the tap dance lessons, and the ballet lessons. :)

I believe God endows all of His children with special talents and abilities. I don't deny that He's given me specific gifts that I enjoy using for Him and sharing with others. But I wonder if I have been a good steward in cultivating these talents, and could I possibly teach a class on any of them? Hmmm...I'll have to think about this. I'd hate to join a co-op and not be able to participate!

A Coffee Bar

Welcome to one of my favorite spots in my kitchen--the coffee bar!

I found an old dresser and laid some cute oil cloth across the top to prevent water and coffee from damaging the wood (I always spill).

The top drawer of the dresser holds my coffee and tea. The other drawers hold my linens. It's been a great addition to my kitchen...fun and functional!

A Fun Little Project...

I had fun making these to hang over the girls' play kitchen area in their room.

I found these garden lantern lights at WalMart. I covered them with cute gingham fabric from WalMart's $1/yd. bin and hid the rough edges with ribbon. No sewing required! They're not as bright as I hoped they would be, but they've turned out to be a great night light!

Feeling Crafty

My daughters love to color and paint at the kitchen table. We keep art supplies in little containers on a lazy susan. When it's time to color, I just place it in the center of my table.

Recently I've added glue sticks. I had no idea these would be such a hit with my 2 year old daughters. Unfortunately, they haven't quite figured out the purpose of a glue stick. So far they've just smeared purple glue all over their papers with squeals of delight. Look at that huge blob of purple glue...that's gotta be good for something. That's what I call art!


Lest you think I'm a wasteful mother, I'll have you know that Target and Wal-Mart are selling these great purple glue sticks in sets of 2 for only 22 cents! We've stocked up. This will have to be a yearly event in our home.

Easy-to-Make Kitchen Chalkboard

I saw this idea in a magazine and decided that I would search for an old window and make a chalkboard for my kitchen. I found several old windows in antique stores that would work nicely for this project, but they were a bit pricey. Who would have thought?

My husband and I found this window at a Habitat for Humanity store and we paid only $5 for it! A little sandpaper and paint did the trick.

Green and Red

My husband, my four children and I moved into a new (to us) home last fall. After many months of searching for a way to decorate the kitchen, I think I've found it! I have fallen in love with all things vintage. I've so enjoyed scouring antique stores in search of treasures for this kitchen of mine.


It began with an interest in finding things to hang on my green kitchen walls. "Red would go well with this shade of green," I thought. I didn't know what effect this would have on me...this love of the vintage style. It takes me back to years past, imaging, perhaps, what my Grandma might have made for dinner on a hot summer evening.


Here's a sampling of just a few of the things I've found and enjoy displaying in my kitchen.