Wild Animals at the Zoo

We tooka few of them home with us!

A Quiet Afternoon

Yesterday, Ryan attended a birthday party that lasted all afternoon. Emmalee

had a playdate at a friend's house. I had the whole afternoon to myself!

{Just a little taste of what's to come once school starts, although just a few days here and there will be like this}

So, I went just around the block to my favorite part of this city...our local library.

This is the view from the front of the library...quite the eyesore, eh?

I loved the yellow and purple together!

My favorite view inside the library. :)

Next stop was my favorite retail spot in town.

Me and JoAnn...we're good friends!

I only bought a few things that I needed for current projects, but

I did browse the aisles a bit. No lack of inspiration!

I did buy this from the cutting counter...it happened to be laying there from

the prior person. It's a bit thicker...what they make pillows out of. I'm thinking

that the extra thickness might just make a great bag.

A couple more recent fabric finds....

Then it was home to spend a bit of time sewing. I'm quilting my first project, just straight rows. The "Sew Darn Cute" book I'm using suggested using masking tape to keep

your rows straight and even ... it's proved to be a lifesaver while quilting!

~~

What a great way to spend the occasional afternoon!

Growth

Basil

(Yes, mine grows roses...doesn't yours?)

One of our tomato plants...oh my!!

We are going to have hundreds of these!

Zuchinni

Cucumbers

{Mostly} Handstitched Wallhanging

This pattern is from my favorite craft book, "Sew Darn Cute," by Jenny Ryan

I pulled this book out after we returned from our trips and

was surprised to see how many projects I've made from this book.

This was a perfect project to work on 10-20 minutes a day.

The entire project is handstitched, except for the red rickrack and the gold ribbon

across the top.

I see other possibilities...palm trees, mushrooms, owls...

Reverse Applique - Emma's Skirt

My dear friend, Dandelion Bones got me interested in trying

reverse applique. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

It's taken be over a month to get this done because of our travel-full June.

The entire skirt probably took me 3-4 hours. Emma loves it, which makes it all worthwhile.

Thrifting and Crafting

Mom and I spent a bit of time Saturday thrifting. I didn't spend much but came

home with a couple of things I'd been looking for. I found six vintage Tupperware

ice cream bowls for .49 each. These hold the perfect serving size of icecream, and they can be used outside without worrying about breakage.

Ryan's room is almost done! Once I finish the closet curtains, I'll post before and after pictures. Meanwhile, I found this wooden shelf at Goodwill to hold his baseball and

bat...$1.99 plus 1/2 off as it was the color of the day. It matches his border quite well!

Some of my downtime this weekend was spent on this. I've discovered that I love
hand sewing, just a bit at a time. I finished this tonight and will post once it's
received by it's intended. Then I may make a few more. It's so nice to have a small
project laying next to the rocking chair...it's much easier to sneak a minute here and there to work on it than the larger projects waiting by my sewing machine downstairs.

While in Arizona, I fell in love with small hand-quilted projects.
The "Quilter's Complete Guide" is on it's way to me from the library...
can't wait to start!

~~

Check out more thifty finds at Apron Thrift Girl

A few extras

We had a few extra kids one day this past week.

The more the merrier!
Emma and Wyatt were mixing up a poisonous
concoction for the coyotes {?}.
They can spend hours together making up stories,
adopting characters...having a great time!

A little snow cone break.

Ryan and Carson

Trevor...looks at those eyes!

Last night...

...after Bible Study, I spent some time outside with my

sun tea, sewing project, and a gorgeous evening. It feels so good

to be creating again!

Meanwhile, Bob was reading the last book of a five book series (and the second complete series of works...make any sense? Lots of books!) to Ryan. They are currently reading 'The Malloreon" series by David Eddings. Hours have been spent just like this!

...while I'm reading the Rainbow Fairy series by Daisy Meadows
to Emmalee.
~Love these moments~

Matt & Dana's Wedding ~ Favorite People Photos

~Emmalee and Helena~

Fast Friends
Loving the dresses

~Father and Son~

~Magic Tricks~

~Brother and Sister~

~Withe Uncle Matt~

~Mother and Daughter~

~Making his Mark~

~Taking his job seriously~

(The rings were kept in a climbing chalk bag)

~Emma's dream job...dressed in a girly, twirly dress

while throwing flowers to her heart's content~

~Love this one~

~Beautiful Vows~

~It's official!~

~Sweet Parents~

~Father and Daughter~

~Pure Joy~

~New Friends~

~Sweet Family~

~Max and Amanda...Celebrating Three Years~

~Mr. and Mrs.~

~It was a beautiful wedding. 100 degrees in the Arizona desert,

but a good time was had by all~

~

{Just after this photos was taken, we loaded up in the van for our 19 hour road trip home...ah...home!}