One more man...

In the past week there has been 1 extra man living at my house!


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Yes, it's true... one more man bossing me around in MY house.


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He is very strict and very firm on his beliefs in ONE certain area.





****FINANCES****


Wanna guess who HE is?


Yep, it's HIM!



Ok, so he isn't really living in my house...but his presence is certainly felt around here lately!!!



I'm grateful that he is here, on top of my nauseated feeling when thinking about budgets, I actually have a bigger sense of peace and believe it or not an excited feeling about being in control of my money.

It's in the beginning stages of the works, but my husband and I both feel better about what we are doing and how we control our money, instead of our money controling us.



Are you a Dave Ramsey student? If so , I would love to hear any tips, testimonies, or helpful ideas you have found along the way.

Simple

In a crazy fast paced world, I still love being simple.


Something as simple as a piece of our white pottery, filled with apples makes me think...




farmhouse




baking




Sunday family dinners.





So, this weekend will be simply spent. You?

Snow! And A Mini Wreath of Buttons!

This weekend was our first snow filled weekend! We woke up to approx 6" of snow on Saturday morning and we were all excited for it! It was absolutely beautiful!











Koda loved it too!


The old buckboard, looking its finest with a fresh coating of snow...






And since the kids were out playing, and while watching the football game, I decided to craft.....hmmmm, how about I make a mini wreath using some of those vintage white buttons I showed on here last week.








I love how it turned out...now to make more, and I'm thinking large scale! ;)



Did you craft this weekend? If so, what?

Treasure Hunting.....

Goin' on a treasure hunt.....




And here is what is on my list:
Old, worn books
Escutcheons
Vintage buttons
Skeleton keys
Vintage papers, postcards
Industrial hardware (small scale)

In other words....


...anything old, and vintagie.



What are you hunting for?

A weekend of fun...

The weekend that I thought I would get a ton of things done, is gone and over. I am still sitting here with the same pile of laundry, plus more added to the pile, and the same dirty floors that need swept and mopped, amongst many other areas of the house that have been deprived.


BUT, there are some stacks of crafty things that have had attention and effort put into it.

Remember the easy peasy hint I gave you?


Making these?

Well, YES, I made some beautiful homemade envelopes for my new Dave Ramsey endeavor....but I couldn't use my Martha Stewart templates (shown above). I wanted a plain old "normal" sized envelope....perfect for putting dollar bills into.



Oh, did I have fun making these......
unfold an envelope, trace it out onto fun scrapbooking paper, or whatever paper you have laying around, and then cut it out and glue up the sides.



I love how they turned out!




Who wouldn't want to put cold, hard cash into these things?! I will just make small labels yet to organize them into the categories, and they are finished!




I even made 1 for each of the kiddos, for their "saving for a rainy day" envelope!

They love them too!






So, with the beginning of my Financial Peace teachings from DR,and just to keep it real....a resolution of mine is to NOT use credit for the year 2012!

I can't go completely without plastic, since my debit card is plastic and that is where my money is drawn out of. BUT, I am striving for no credit card usage in 2012!

Anyone out there with me?


And, here is another sneak peek at what I will be sharing with you soon. My first assignment with Creatively Made......


Making handmade journals!
I love this!

I will share lots more info soon!


Oh, and I almost forgot the best thing about the weekend......spending time with my family while thrifting! Yes! I love antique,thrift, flea marketing so much, and it's even better when the fam is along....
Take a gander at a big score I found this weekend....

I. AM. IN. LOVE.

Making This Year Different

Purge- To remove (impurities and other elements) by or as if by cleansing


Do you find that at the beginning of a new year, you are ready to PURGE? Purge everything....home- workspace, closets, basements, garages, toy rooms, and of course your body. :) Lately, with lots of inspiration from some pretty fabulous ladies, I have felt the need to purge somethings in my lifestyle, in my way of thinking and living. I have a renewed feeling that this year I am going to do more things, take that next step that I've been fearing, and plant the seed that will lead to future promises. I will get rid of the doubt, the procrastinations and the "I don't know if I can do that" way of thinking.

Is anyone out there with me?

Earlier this week I signed up for an ecourse held by the lovely Jeanne Oliver. This class is called "Creatively Made" I was unsure if I should sign up for it at first, but took the plunge, and about a second after I did it, I knew I had done the right thing. I love the title of the class. It's not just about art folks, but how we are also Creatively Made by the Father. How wonderful this strong woman of Faith is and what a blessing it was to hear her talk about Gifts that were given to us with a purpose, with an intent to be used. It spoke so much to me and over a 100 other women on the very first day. And, these othere women....it's so great to see everyone on there sharing so many thoughts, ideas, stories.....one word....amazing! :)



So, my week got real busy and led to a whole bunch of "fun homework", but it was worth it.

On top of the ecourse, I am also going to be starting up the Dave Ramsey course! Wow, I must miss school?!
If you aren't familiar with DR, go HERE.

And as soon as I started pouring thoughts into the DR thing...a little craft came to mind, to make for the new endeavor.....will be sharing that soon, but here is a hint at what I'll be making.



Plus then there are the acorns.....lots of them floating around the house too, as I've been making them. Thinking pinks and glitter for February.


And quickly, as promised....here are a few pictures of some new pottery that we made for the Christmas Open House.

New Soup Pots (Tureens)




Some New Lamps....LOVED these myself.



Some Coasters



And Chip n Dip Bowls! How fun!


So, are you purging? And if so, what? And if you too are taking the Creatively Made ecourse, I would love to hear from ya!

See you soon!