The Sewing Machine...my new FAVORITE thing

This blog started out a year ago... because I wanted to share my favorite things.

I have a new favorite thing...

My Grandmother's Sewing Machine.

I've always loved sewing...and have used a machine that I bought at a garage sale for $10.

It did the job, but took FOREVER to do what I wanted it to.

Strings would break every time you put it in reverse.

The tension was always wrong.

It only had a straight stitch...and that was even hard to get right.

But, I loved making things...and used it.

However, I am able to say good bye (with out any tears) to the old machine.

I am ready to bury it in the backyard, because now...I have something so beautiful and wonderful...

it almost makes me cry.

I would like to introduce you to: GENEVA!

She is lovely and genuine.

She is gentle and smooth.

She is relaxed and straight.

She is not afraid to take chances with new stitches.

She is amazing...just like my GRANDMA.

So...in the few weeks that I have had her I have spent hours making a few new things.

Here is my new ruffle skirt...made from t-shirts! 

It cost me NOTHING...except for HOURS of ruffles and sewing.

But, with Geneva...that was easy!

Then I made a few baby gifts.

A tie onesie...and a soft cuddly blanket to match.

Isn't it cute?

Seriously...that tie!

Adorable.

I would LOVE to make more of these...so if you want me to make one for you...let me know.

I would make the blanket and onesie tie...for $35.

Here is a different print...

So after blankets and onesies with ties on them, I decided to try out a few other pinned items on Pinterest.

Are you on Pinterest?

WOW...it is a great place to find fun ideas...and to waste a lot of time.

I love it...well, not the wasting of time, but finding the ideas.

If you want directions to any of these ideas...go to my pins and the links will take you to the right blog.

I also decided to make a few ruffle pants for my girls.

These pants were really just "practice"...

but they turned out so well that my daughter is actually wearing them to school today. 

Hurray for kiddos wanting to wear the things I make for them!

I wonder how long that will last. **wink.**

They go so well with her Matilda Jane outfits.

Love Matilda Jane...but I can't afford it all of the time.

I am looking forward to making the girls "jean" ruffle pants next week.

I think I will make them a little more slimming...these ballooned a little too much at the bottom.

And then I have made MORE pillows.

This one is so fun...love trees.

She sits in my craft room...this one I could also make if anyone is interested.

Cost of this pillow case...$15.

(does not include that pillow form.)

So...that is what I have been sewing with my new favorite thing. 

Grandma, you are loved and I am SO thankful for your gift.

I will use it often and promise to take good care of her.

I will think of YOU every time I sit down in front of her.

I will be filled with joy...because of YOU.

Love you Grandma.

P.S.  Nothing brightens my day more than a little comment...so if you want to make me smile...why not tell me which project you like the best?  Thanks friends!

Love the Lord...pillow

My head cold took over today...and so instead of being busy I decided I should just relax a little and CRAFT.

I sat in front of my fire, put some music on in the background, and enjoyed a cup of coffee.

I pinned (on Pinterest) a fun pillow that looked simple...an alphabet stencil and a Sharpie marker.

I could do that.

One of my goals was to include a Bible verse on my pillow

and our family LOVES the first and Greatest COMMANDMENT...

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all of your Soul and with all your MIND. 

I really liked this quote from Francis Chan...and so I made it into a pillow!

The hardest part was figuring out if it would fit and how to space it.

I wrote it out and figured that each line needed an inch of space...so I had to fit it in to 15 lines.

It went pretty smoothly...just took my time and lined it all up.

I love my pillow...it's perfect for Valentine's Day...but also good for a DAILY REMINDER...

I am called to Love Him.

What a fun commandment.

Because HE loves ME!

and you know what...He LOVES YOU TOO!

and the WINNER is...

Thanks to all of those wonderful people who commented on the Valentine's Day Cup Holders!

I wanted to give a shout out to the winner.

The WINNER is...EMILY!

Thanks Emily for becoming a fan and leaving a comment!

I will ship your Cup Holder out tomorrow!

Valentine's Day Mug Holders Give Away!!

I love these little Valentines Mug Holders!

I saw them on Pinterest and thought...ahh...those would be fun to make.

So...I am having a little GIVE AWAY!

My first ever.

So...here is the plan...if you like it and would like one all you have to do is:

1. Leave me a comment.

2. Become a follower!

3. Check back to see if you won!

I didn't have a Starbucks cup...but they will fit on pretty much any type of cup.

Plus...the little "I love you" piece comes out.

YOU can also give these as gifts!

The top piece of burlap has been left open so you can leave a note, a little cash to let them go buy themselves a coffee, or even a tea bag!

I made a few!

They were so fun. 

So...maybe you don't win on the Give Away...

and you REALLY want one.

Well, I will sell you one for $3 plus shipping.

The GIVE AWAY will be chosen on 1*14*12

One month before Valentine's Day!

Leave a Comment and Become a Follower!

Pizza Pizza!

For Christmas I asked for a cookbook:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

By: Ree Drummond

As some of you know...I don't LOVE cooking.  I do it every day...some times 3 times a day.

But I don't LOVE it.

I don't LOVE cooking because it takes a lot of time.

I don't LOVE cooking because after you have spent all of that time...you eat it all in 15 minutes...and there is nothing to show for it...

EXCEPT for all of the dishes you have to clean up after you cook.

HOWEVER...I decided I would like to begin trying new recipes...and The Pioneer Woman

always has yummy looking pictures on her blog and in her cookbooks.

So...we decided to try her PIZZA!

* I thought this would be fun since the whole family can cook together!

**cooking is more fun when EVERYONE helps!

We made the dough from scratch!

YUP...with stuff we call yeast!

I know...pretty impressive, huh?

Ingredients

• FOR THE CRUST (MAKES TWO CRUSTS):
• 
• 1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• TO MAKE THE CRUST:
  Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
  In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
  Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. ***It's best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.
  
  
  
  ***I stole all of these words from the Pioneer Woman's BLOG.
  
  
  
  Isn't my Man handsome?
  I love him.
  The reason I added this lovely picture of me and my man is because there is a pizza in the back ground...
  see it?
  
  
  
  
  
  UM...YUM!
  So, I have been cooking!
  I've tried so many of the recipes and loved them all.
  
  
  Just wanted to let you know that there is a difference between a corned beef brisket and a regular brisket.
  We had company over for dinner...and the corned beef brisket didn't look like the Pioneer Woman's.
  It was so red.
  But...thank goodness my husband is in food sales and instantly recognized the difference.
  If it weren't for him...we would have been waiting another 6 hours before I was SURE it was really cooked.
  
  
  It still tasted good.
  
  
  
  
  
   

FLOORS...before and after

One of my favorite projects of 2011 were the FLOORS!

There was vinyl in the kitchen, laundry and bathroom...and it was beat up.

**It was white with teal small squares in between the fake white tile look...

the problem was the white was now more yellow.

There were holes...nicks and to be honest I hated it so much that I decided it wasn't even worth cleaning.

The front entry way was forest green tile. 

And the family room, study and dining room all had horrible cream carpet.

Here is the BEFORE of the family room.

And the AFTER:

**please excuse the Christmas photos...

Hubby and I decided he would do the messy work...taking out all of the old...and we hired in the flooring experts to lay it. 

Here My Hubby is actually smiling as he starts destruction...

but I will promise you he was not smiling by the end. 

We both had blisters and sore bodies from the tear out.

I just LOVE seeing the tile come up!

But...we had a MESS!

It was Tuesday and we had company coming on Friday afternoon!

We begged all kind of helpers to pitch in...

(Look how excited Adi is in the background.)

So to make a long story shorter...our floor layer told us he couldn't come until Friday...but we had company coming and we had to get the floor down!  Well...because he said he wasn't coming till Friday we took Thursday morning off from our tear out work.  We weren't quite done pulling out all of the vinyl in the laundry, kitchen and bathroom.  The vinyl wasn't the issue...it was the 10,000 nails in each of the floor boards that had to be pulled up or hammered in.  At 11:00 I chatted with the flooring guy again and he changed his mind and decided he could come and start laying our floor that afternoon.  WHAT? um...GREAT!  We jumped up, called over the neighbors and as we were tearing up the back part of the house they were laying the front part!  WOW! 

They were fast too.  I am so glad we decided to have them lay it.

This was our trash pile...umm...that was a lot of carpet, tile, sub floor!

The garbage man had to go and get another truck to help him...but they took it all!

Another AFTER shot more of the floor.

We went with a 5 inch width and a darker stain. 

I LOVE it.

Here is another BEFORE...these were the pictures I took during the inspection...before we moved in.

NOTICE the frames on the wall in the upper right corner...

YUP...no pictures...just the frames.

AFTER: new FLOORS...

new paint on the BANISTER...

 

What do you think?

Sorry it took so long to post this Before and After...

Dyksterhouse and Slings Christmas!

Christmas to us is about

Christ's Birth

and Celebrating with

TRADITIONS!

There must be something about recreating something that has always been good.

We start out early and head to visit with

Great Grandma.  She loves a little visit with her Great Grandkids.

The visit had enough energy and excitement to last her a year!

The kids each opened a present with her...it was a great moment.

I truly admire this woman.

The next tradition is McDonalds.

YUP.

This is tradition.

My hubby and his family have always done it...I don't really understand it, but I go with it...

and...the kids LOVE it.

**sorry no pictures of McDonalds...

Here are all of the Grandkids with Grandpa and Grandma...

I love Mark's look...Brody doesn't really like group photos.

We always head to Bronson Park in Kalamazoo for a little walk.

We go to kill a little time...and to freeze.

I was a little bummed that Santa wasn't there this year.

Sometimes he surprises us.

We check out the manger scene.

This poor little lamb...he wasn't expecting so much love!

Then we head to the other side of the park and check out the snowflake lights

and the candycanes.

Eleven years ago we were married and took pictures in front of these snowflakes.

So every year we take a LOVELY picture...

I am telling you...TRADITION.

Then we head back to open presents.

Isn't my neice Joy just adorable?  She is always so HAPPY.

Then we head to church at 11:00 for the Christmas Eve service.

AMAZING.

Then the next day we celebrate with the Slings Family.

Here are a few of the my nieces and my sister, Lori.

For Christmas I made my mom and mother in law a Guess Who game with pictures of our family members.

I pinned it on Pinterest...check it out here.

Guess Who Family Edition

Beautiful Hannah with her new PillowPet!

These two can't take a serious picture to save their lives. 

But they sure can have a lot of fun!

STOCKINGS!

At the Slings family Christmas we have a great meal.

This year we had Sweet Meat...umm..yummy...

Pioneer Woman...you would love this recipe.

Then we chill.  Play a little ping pong.

And eat some more.

We had a great Christmas.

Thanks Lord, for an amazing FAMILY and for the TRADITIONS we can

celebrate because of your BIRTH.