Christmas 2009

My daughter as an Angel in our church Christmas Eve Pageant 2009

The beautiful Advent Wreath at our church on Christmas Eve 2009

My daughter and her fellow "Angel" friends at the Christmas Eve service 2009~

they sang "Silent Night" beautifully.

My Littlest Angel

All 4 of my children in front of our tree before the Christmas Eve service 2009

Quick and Easy Painted Plaques

I was in a creative mood today and thought that I would try out my free sample of Glidden Paint that I ordered several weeks ago. I ordered Ground Nutmeg and painted this square plaque with it and then distressed the edges with a sanding sponge. (The lighting isn't too good in this photo, but I think that you can still tell what the final product looks like). I then copied a "P" off of Microsoft Works at 400% and traced it and painted it on the plaque. I have a wall of just P's since that is what our last name starts with and will probably hang it there when dry.

The other little round plaque is painted green, distressed and stamped with a red Fleur-De-Lis. I love the colors for Christmas (or any time of the year for my colorful kitchen) and the shape is found everywhere these days. I then tied a gingham bow and hot glued it to the back to hang it by. So easy that even those without any crafting experience can do it, and to think that I actually sell these in my Etsy Shop (www.4littlepilgrims.etsy.com)! So super simple and such a cute, quick and inexpensive gift. This would make a cute hostess gift, teacher gift, Bunco gift or just a treat for yourself! Let me know if you make one of these projects, I would LOVE to see them, so send the pictures my way and Happy Holidays!

Dollar Store Wreath

I finally found the time to help my daughter make the ornament wreath that everyone over blogland has made or is planning on making at some point! My daughter is five and had the best time stringing the ornaments on the coat hanger to make this adorable wreath. We used about 60 ornaments of this one particular size that we purchased at the Dollar Tree. 5 packages in all so therefore the total cost was $5 plus tax! Our cat, Pilgrim, also got into the Christmas spirit and enjoyed being around all of the sparkle and color. The finished picture just shows the wreath, not where it will eventually go. My daughter says that since she made it she wants it to hang on her bedroom door. Fine with me, I would like to make one of my own just out of the champagne and gold ornaments anyway, I think that would look so elegant. Have fun and go spend time with a child making memories to last a lifetime. Happy Holidays!

$10 Dirty Santa Gift~ Ceramic Candy Dish and Appliqued Towel

I just happened to be walking through Wal-Mart and what did I see? An adorable red, white and lime green ceramic candy dish~ and just in my price range! I have to buy a Dirty Santa gift for my sorority Christmas party and my ECW church party and I thought that $9 for this cute whimsical dish was great! I also put one of my new appliqued dish towels in it and voila! So if any of my friends that are attending are looking at this blog, you already know what I am bringing, so shhh!!:)

Merry Christmas and let me know if you decide to purchase this cute dish too! (They also had some small ones for $2-$4). Wow!

Happy Christmas!

My Very First Appliqued Dish Towel

I love the look of appliqued items and I had my heart set on making some, even though I don't have a sewing machine. As long as you can iron and make simple stitches you too can applique! What fun I had today making this simple cross dish towel. I found the cute red and white gingham cotton dish towel at Dollar Tree and I used a wooden cross that I had to trace onto some leftover fabric that I had lying around. My son said that it didn't match, but I love the contrasting, whimsical look of the polka dots and the checks. The lime green stitches aren't perfect, but then neither am I and I kind of like the home~made look that it gives. I thought that these would make great Christmas gifts and plan on making many more designs as I find a shape that I like. Go see what you can come up with and let me know how addicted you get too! Have fun!~:)

$20.00 Garage Sale Hutch Makeover

Once in a good while you get extremely lucky at garage sales. Well, I got a steal from a lady down the street who was selling pretty much everything in order to pick up and move 2000 miles away! She said that this hutch needed a lot of TLC and I was just the person that day to give it (plus the $20 that I gave her)! I could see the diamond in the rough- so to speak- and envisioned a beautiful black hutch that I have been wanting for as long as I can remember. I have been married almost 15 years and have had nothing to display my formal dishes in. So sad I know, boo hoo for me! :) Well, I got busy sanding, priming, and painting and even adding beadboard wallpaper to the back part of the upper piece, and this is what I came up with. I love it and it is a wonderful addition to my dining room. I have yet to put the doors back on because one was in such bad shape, and I am not sure that I will even ever want to put them back on. I kind of like it open, for now anyway! I also have to put a coat of polyurethane on the top portion of the hutch, but my husband wanted his parking place back in the garage.:) So this is how it looks for now. Hope you like it as much as I do!

Bedroom Lamp Makevoer

These are two wall lamps that I found at an Annual church Garage Sale back in the Spring. I bought them for $1.00 each. What a bargain! I then bought the lamp shades at Hobby Lobby (with a 40% off coupon) that you can cover yourself with any kind of material, etc. that you like. I found the fabric on clearance at Hancock Fabrics and bought all that was left (about 2.5 yards I think) for less than $4.00! What a deal! Then my friend monogrammed them for me and I repainted the old shiny brass finish with the same Rust Kit that I redid my Dining Room chandelier with. I love the look so much better than the outdated brass finish. Hope you enjoy looking and get inspired to paint something of your own. I love being able to redo things to suit my taste at a great price. That is the only way that I get to do a lot of things around my house~ is being able to do them myself, everything is so expensive to have done otherwise and just trying to feed and clothe 4 kids on airline salaries these days can be quite a challenge at times! :)

Dining Room Chandelier Makeover in a Rust Finish

This dining room chandelier is one I found on the side of the road from a family that had updated their light fixture and was selling their house. I was sure to ask them if it worked before taking the time to paint it, etc. It was formerly a brass finish and I used a Rust Kit (which is just Burnt Sienna textured spray paint and a dark brown paint (watered down a bit) sponged over the spray paint. The second picture is the light fixture after spray painting it with the Burnt Sienna. Sorry, I don't have a "Before" photo to show you, but you can imagine plain ole shiny brass! I love the look and it was FREE! I still have to get some small lamp shades to put on it~ am thinking about burlap ones~ and it will be the perfect look that I love for my dining room! Hope you enjoy the photos and will want to go find something in your house to makeover!

First Day of School 2009

My boys are in 8th, 7th, & 4th Grades and my daughter is starting Kindergarten this year. So sad for Mommy. Can't believe my baby is going off to school 5 days a week now!

Gulf Shores-July 2009

Gulf Shores-July 2009

My wonderful husband and daughter

My daughter coming out of the bubble machine
at The Hangout in Gulf Shores


One of my favorite pictures of my daughter.
She looks like she is thinking really hard!

My daughter outside the condo
on the day that we left Gulf Shores.

Gulf Shores~ July 2009

Me and My Boys

All 4 of my kids having fun in the pool in Gulf Shores

Our family just got back from beautiful Gulf Shores, AL for a week of sun and family fun! Unfortunately my daughter got sick and was unable to be in the beach photos with her brothers, but I got a few of her the next day before we headed home.

More of Greece 2009

Fresh Octopus Hanging Up at the Island that we took a cruise to.

My son in front of the boats in the marina on the island.

A Greek Orthodox church on the island.

Columns that have stood the test of time at the Parthenon

The Greek Flag flying on top of the building where we saw

the Changing of the Guards.

Greece~ Summer 2009

My son and his friend on the Ferry over to one of the Greek Islands.

My son and his friend standing with one of the Guards in Athens.

My son and his friend on a rock up to the Parthenon.

My son, his friend and I in front of the Parthenon.

My son and his friend in a hole in a rock at the Parthenon.

We had the pleasure of visiting our good friends, the Triantopoulos' in Athens, Greece for 6 days in June. The people were so nice and the food (esp. the pastries) were delicious! We loved being able to see The Parthenon in person (of course the hike up the mountain about killed me). Wow, what an amazing piece of history!

St. Andrew's Kingdom of the Son VBS 2009

This year three friends of mine and I were responsible for putting together VBS at our church. We chose the theme "Kingdom of the Son- A Prayer Safari" and we hope that the kids had an awesome time this week! Here is a group photo of the kids and some of the helpers at the oldest member of our church's house. We walked over to sing her a few songs and to have lemonade and cookies. The kids always love climbing in her huge Magnolia tree.

Monogrammed and Aged Front Door

This is our Front Entry Door~ it used to be a "bluegrass green" color but had faded from the strong morning sun exposure. Of course it had been more than two years since I had painted it, so it was long overdue for a makeover. Enter the free dark brown and off-white paint from Porter Paints (not any more since they got a new manager) and a brush, some paper towels and a vinyl monogram that I purchased off of Etsy(I love anything that is personalized) and voila~ a whole new look for the front door. I love it and get so many comments on it because it is truly one-of-a-kind!