Small Bathroom Makeover

The small bathroom makeover continues....

We began the project here.

With all the holiday activities going on it feels like I began this project years ago.

Peter began nailing up the tin pieces along the ceiling.

He will have to cut down the other piece along the top of the tub.

 Hopefully, we will be able to make more progress tomorrow and Saturday!



Till tomorrow...

debi

Christmas Thoughts

Joy to the World


Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
let every heart prepare him room,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let all their songs employ;
while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
he comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love.

Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

Music: Arr. from G.F. Handel by Lowell Mason, 1792-1872

Luke 2:7-15
...and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Small Bathroom Makeover

I love having many "irons" in the fire.  I usually have several projects going at one time, and this time of year is no different.  Currently I've been working on Christmas gifts (which I can't show you since I know there are snoopers out there!), but I'm also working on redoing my upstairs bath. 

The upstairs in our house used to be the girl's domain  I rarely went upstairs and they were responsible for their own "cleaning."  Now, however all the little birds have flown the coupe and have nests of their own, and the upstairs is now my domain. 

I have created an office, a sewing room, and an art area...plus the grandkids have their own play room!  No one really goes upstairs any more except me and the kids, but that may soon change! 

This coming year we may have a young woman come to live with us, so I've been highly motivated to downsize, clear out and make changes. 

I've been cleaning out the closets upstairs and the girls have been forced to take all their high school memorabilia, prom dresses, books and "stuff" that was accumulated over the years.

Furniture has also been leaving at a pretty good clip.  If the girls don't want it, I've found other families that have need of what I have, and if it helps them, I'm happy to send it their way!!!  As I've also mentioned, I'm downsizing my fabric also.

This bathroom upstairs has not been touched since we moved in the house (and that's been 11 years.)

The walls are blue, the tub, tile and cabinets are white and the flooring is blue and white.  There is a small bit of wallpaper along the ceiling that must come down. 

Once I started the process of pulling the paper down, I found another paper pasted underneath (cows).  Obviously the builder put up the wrong paper, discovered their error and then put our choice right over the top of the wrong paper. 

Just more work to pull it off!

The cabinets in this bath are the standard "new house" white, plain Jane cabinets.

The cabinet over the toilet is also plain Jane white, and the light fixture is too ugly to even discuss.

Here's a close up of the flooring...which will also be coming up in the days to come!

My first step was to paint all the cabinets a high gloss black.  I must confess at this point that I thought I could spray paint in that bathroom...HA!  Should have taken a picture of my black legs and feet from the over spray. When my husband came home he asked what I was doing...I just said I was working on a "project gone wrong."  Didn't want to confess too much, but he soon found out.  Needless to say...I rolled on the rest of the paint!  (It was fast and fun while it lasted!) AND...I did have the window open!!!

I'm also working on a mirror idea and I painted this piece black to match the cupboards.  This was originally the mirror from an old dresser, but it is missing the mirror.  The guy at the Antique shop gave me quite a bit off the price...when I pointed out there was no longer a mirror in the frame.  He laughed...but, I didn't have to pay very much for the piece.

Well...that is the first sneak peek of this bathroom.  I've got to finish pulling down the paper and then we'll start working on the walls.  We bought some old tin pieces to use in this bathroom...and I'm anxious to show you more as we pull this project together.

Till tomorrow...
debi

Christmas Baking

I love working in an old house.  Work always seems more fun!  But...more importantly...I love the ladies I work with day to day!

Having a kitchen in our old house also seems to be an advantage...so we declared a "baking day" at work! The kitchen is not huge, but all the important appliances are there, and we brought in whatever was lacking in the cupboards and got to work!

I also have to state here that I love the ladies I work with in our little house! The ladies of

Seed Sowers occupy the lower floor and 3e McKinney is upstairs.(Larry, Beth and I...poor Larry and all his ladies!)

Miss Stephanie works with Seed Sowers...and she's going to show us all how to make Truffles.

She prepared her ingredients early in the day so the chocolate would have time to harden before she began the process.

Stephanie and her little "elf" helper began rolling the truffles in powdered sugar and cocoa right after lunch.

I think our little 'elf' liked the process...

But, I think she's wearing most of the powdered ingredients. (You can't really see all the powdered sugar and cocoa on her sweater!)

As we worked...the Mounted Police kept busy right outside our window!  I stopped counting after the 6th car was pulled over...

Inside we were busy...some items we made that morning

and some items were prepared early (Larry insists he made these all by himself...thanks Ginny!)

Next, Wendy and our little elf helper made sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies.  I didn't catch a picture of the finished product, but our little elf iced the sugar cookies and decorated them with sprinkles.

We kept her busy all afternoon! 

We all agreed at the start that we didn't need the extra calories, so we packaged up our goodies and shared them with others who serve with us throughout the year.

We took a break for lunch, and all of us headed over to Sauce to eat and visit.  I took a picture of the ladies of Seed Sowers, but I think Wendy took a picture of our side of the table (Larry, Beth and I.)

Elaine, Stephanie and Wendy are the heart and soul of Seed Sowers.

While we were busy baking downstairs...Beth (the heart and soul of 3e) was immersed in putting together the last minute items for the Christmas angels from our local schools.  

Only two angels (from the thousand plus that were picked up) were left over that we needed to provide Christmas for this year. 

The churches, high school student councils and individuals of McKinney all pulled together to cover the many angels in need this year!

Beth has such faith...and to only have two left over...what a miracle!

Thinking of each of the ladies I work with, the Lord gave me a "word" that perfectly describes who they are and what they mean to their ministries...and to me.

Faith, Hope, Joy and Strength!  Each woman brings her gift to the job they do everyday!  Without the ladies these ministries would be lacking!

I made each of them a pillow with their "word" printed on the front.

Each pillow had a pocket to hold the scripture I used to describe each of them and their gift.  I printed the scripture onto fabric and tucked it into their pocket so it would be a reminder of their God-given "gift"...and to remind them, when they feel discouraged, of what they mean to others.

Elaine with her inner Strength,

 Wendy bringing Hope to others,

Stephanie so full of Joy

Beth filled with Faith!

I am so blessed and count it a privilege to work with these women...and know they are "Jesus" to so many in our community! 

If you know these women...hug them and give them a big thank you for what they do to make McKinney a better place to live!!!

Till tomorrow...
debi

Christmas Thoughts

Oh Holy Night

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
     Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
     O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
     O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
     He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
     Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
     Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
     Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
     His power and glory evermore proclaim.
     His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Luke 2:13-14

 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Christmas Projects

I have been on a "getting rid of binge" lately.  I have been merciless in moving out furniture, fabric and "STUFF". 

I spent Saturday going through the grandkids room, cleaning out the closet and removing toys they no longer use in their play.  Of course, clearing out means I have to "stage" the stuff some place to go through it, then the girls come and go through it...AND THEN it can finally leave the house.

Recently it seems there have been so many others that need items and I've been happy to see those carried away.  Two wing chairs to a recently separated husband without furniture, other smaller other items to a homeless family that just got into an apartment.

My biggest "stash" is fabric.  My girlfriend's husband is the sweetest to keep me in fabric (who needs diamonds? HA!...but there is only so much a girl can have!)

These two stacks of fabric reach to just above my waist!

I won't even begin to show you all the fabric I have stacked up...

In the past I've given some of the larger pieces to a group of quilters in Van Alstyne who are making quilts for injured and returning vets.  They do some amazing work!

One of the quilting ladies came to the house to go through the stacks and take what she thought the quilters would use...she was so happy (and I was happy to see several arm fulls being loaded into her car!)

If you leave near McKinney and could use some fabric...give me a shout! (there are 5 more stacks like this one!)

In going through each piece and deciding what I would KEEP helped me solidify some items I've been wanting to finish. (I'm also on a burn to complete or get rid of incomplete projects!)

This Santa cross stitch was made by my mother MANY years ago (so many I don't even remember!)  Every year I tell myself I'm going to make it into a pillow cover, but when I collect the fabric I think will look right, it just never seemed to be the right combination.

While organizing the fabric by weight, style and material (yes...it's easier for someone to take what they like that way!)  I found two really pretty chenille combinations that I liked.

I first stabilized the cross stitch before I sewed the strips along each side.  The red went along the top and bottom and the stripes along the sides.

Here's the front of the pillow...thanks Mom...I think it turned out cute!

Since I'll be using it as a cover for my "regular" pillows I made the back open with just a "tuck in" for the other pillow.  No buttons or closures...very simple.

I also discovered other fabric combinations while organizing the fabric.  These two seemed perfect for each other...and for the Santa picture.

These are probably not combinations the manufacturer would ever pair together...but hey...they looked perfect to me!

I'm currently working on many items, and completing several projects, but this time of year there's just no sharing (too many snoopers!)

I can give you a sneak peek of the latest plate I completed yesterday. 

More on them next time.

Till tomorrow...

debi

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I've been sick for more than a week, so decorating had to be put on the back burner...but I finally felt well enough to get some things done around the house.

I bought this sled several years ago...not an easy task to find one in Texas.  I painted the Santa on it, knowing we NEVER use the sled.  I placed it on the front porch to welcome visitors.

I purchased this great German tree stand at the Tattered Bliss sale last year.  I have a very small tree where I hang my smaller glass and German ornaments. 

The tree is in an out of the way place so the ornaments stay safe.

I made this scratch board picture a couple of years ago...it almost looks like a Santa house!

A small winter village...this will be all the snow we'll probably see this year!

My Mom gave me these Santa's many, many years ago.  It's officially Christmas when they are unpacked.

I made a few Christmas bottles this year...

I like to swap out my wall pocket with this winter one.  I love the little bird!

My Christmas plates and Woodland Santa's.

I finished this Santa project last year right before Christmas (here). 

My husband found this cute little truck and my grandmother crocheted this Santa 25 years ago!

These are some of my favorite ornaments.  My mom gave me these...the fridge doors open

(there's a snowman in the freezer) and the oven has cookies baking.

Tree is completed.

Merry Christmas to all!

Till tomorrow...

debi