More on THE HOUSE mess...

Jared's room...kinda hard to find a place to sleep...

The Sun room....a tight little pass through place these days...

 The dining room...where NO dining is happening...

 The Living room, where everything is pushed into the center...

but we can still sit on the couch & watch a movie, 

(now that the plastic & tarps aren't covering it all up!)

The walls & doors are now repaired & painted! YIPPEE!!

SO...next week, it's onto 

fixing the hard wood floors~

Just HORSEing around....

I've had some fabric waiting to be sewn up

for quite some time now...

(I think it's been 4 or 5 years)

....yesterday I finally did something with it!

 This 'pony fur' is now a FUN 

blanket for my horse-loving daughter...

...& since I had my machine set up...

I used a fabric sample from my old 'sales rep days'

& scraps from previous projects

to piece together a little decorative pillow too!

...I wish I'd SEW more often...

2 terrific weeks...

of my online card making class has finally come to an end.

My Happy Thoughts & Treats

include having a nice little Handmade 

Card Stash now!

The card making class is nearly over

...but I'm still working away!

The last couple of days have been assignments with photos~

Here's the same photo 

of my cousin's kumquat tree...

used to 2 ways~

and lastly, a little fun for a friend~

The Card making class continues...

Here's my newest technique...

 Water coloring a base pattern, 

printing a floral design on the art paper, 

embellishing with rhinestones & ribbon (I used mesh) 

and accenting with a dimensional element. 

Again, mine isn't at all like the teacher's example,
but I still like that this class inspires me
to create my own version of the day's project.

Going to the Beach...but not to the sand!

2nd Cousins Playing Cards 

(see silly Maddy? she's a shrieker)

...and going to the Movies 

...and all hanging out together

...in the jacuzzi 

(since it was cold & windy & foggy 

up on the beach, most of the weekend)

but that didn't keep us from walking to DUKE'S!

 & that's where the Adults got in on the FUN TOO!!!

 What a GREAT TIME we had this holiday

weekend at my Aunt & Uncle's Place!!!

Cards....Day 5

Loved the little SEWING embellishments 

in the assembly of today's card!

 I spruced up the inside too & having fun!

Card Making Class (continued)

Day 1

Simple download & prints...that I embellished further...after a bit of motivation from Suzelle!

~ Day 2 is actually seen in my previous card making post ~

Day 3  ~ Was supposed to have a bunch of changes to the download, but I'm too cheap to go buy a program, so I've done what I can with what I've got...Pretty happy with the results too :o)

 Day 4 ~ Once again...pretty different from the way it was 'supposed to be'...but I'm really OK with the playing with real INK & PAPER, as opposed to a digitally altered version.

Today is Day 5.... & I'll have to see where this day's project takes me...

Taking a Class

To play with paper & all my scrapping supplies...

So far, so good!

An Assortment of ODD Stuff...

Item #1 ~ The kids had to switch their scheduled Altar Serving day

so we can go to my Family's Ventura Beach Party
over the weekend of the 4th! 

They ended up with The Feast of Saint Anthony service...

which includes a parade through the parking lot.

Getting them outside also means a photo op for me,

(as the lighting is SO much better than inside the church)

I'm so glad they were willing to accomodate me,
& pose with Deacon John...

it makes my heart glad to see them so attired!

 

 Item #2 ~ As repairs continue in our house this week, 

I found myself FORCED out of the house...

here's a view from my hammock (yep, it's a rough life) 

on the last day cool enough to BE outside!

 Today it's supposed to hit 106 degrees...

I think I'll stay in & run the A/C.

Item #3 ~ We spent all day yesterday by another pool...

as Jared's summer water polo club hosted a tournament...

Our 18 & under team took 1st Place 

Way to go Boys!

Item #4 ~CUPCAKES!!!

This has been my recent baking obsession...

 Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter & Nutella Frostings!

(made for Audra's birthday)

 Roasted Banana Cupcakes 

(made for my crafter's group exchange party)

Triple Citrus Cupcakes

(test run recipe...some of them are still in the freezer)

 I've made quite a few others too,
but I haven't always had the camera nearby~

TOO HOT now to turn on the oven....
The baking will resume come fall!

Item #5 ~ I've Finally put some of the shells 

I've been collecting for YEARS

to use around my house.

Idea taken from the pottery barn catalogs-

Lantern acquired (inexpensively for $6) on a trip to IKEA-

Candle is flameless, real wax coated,
& battery operated, that I picked up at Target-

It comes on all by itself every evening for 4 hours!

GOTTA LOVE IT!

The House Saga - part 2

Here's a view of some of the salt & assorted other mineral deposits 

that have been growing on the wall INSIDE our home....

YES-sir-ee, it's Lovely!

...everyone wants these 'designer finishes' on their walls....

But you must have a broken pipe, flood your home, & then 

endure many hours of fans drying out said structure 

to achieve this kind of artistic wall texture.

Okay, Maybe NOT!

 

 So, the next step is to get rid of the problem,

by 1st covering your entire room in plastic & tarps

And then scrapping off the growth & loose plaster...

maybe all the way down to the lathe or bricks.

My house isn't looking too pretty now...

and the next phase is to treat the wall with an acid wash 

to leech out any remaining possible moisture.  

Of course, now that it's all torn up & the built in cabinets are sitting in the middle of the room 

and the warped & ruined fireplace mantle is demolished & tossed away, 

there seems to be just a little problem getting the acid needed.

So this is how my house is left looking for the time being...

The OCD part of me is just thrilled.

What a Week we've had here! 

A Special Valedictorian

My wonderful niece, Alex was the key speaker at her high school graduation...

...and we couldn't have been more proud!

Way to Go, Alex! We Love You!