School Treats

Thought I would share some projects I had been working on the last few weeks.
I wanted to make something special for each of Dane's classmates & his teacher, but with a limited budget, things were going to have to be very creative. I lucked out & found some cute little summer buckets at Dollar General-3 for $1.00. There are 10 kids in his class counting him (I knew if I made something & took it to class & didn't have one for him, it would really hurt his feelings). I then found some pinwheels at Dollar Tree. Again, 3 for $1.00. Then I found various kinds of candy -a bag of Blowpops, Mike & Ike for a quarter each. And to really top it off, a bag of Crabby Patties at Dollar Tree! I filled the buckets with some shredded paper & printed a tag that read: Thanks for being my friend ~Dane Celebration 2008.

For his teacher, I bought a larger bucket from Dollar General, some lotions, a book, some of the candies & I made her a journal to write in. I lucked up & found the cover image in Mary Engelbreit's magazine. I then used various other papers & printed out a few more quotes.

The journal was really fun to make. I'm going to make another one for my "Musings" and one to keep track of all the books I've read & a brief recap of the story.
"No man ever really finds out what he believes in until he begins to instruct his children" ~Ephesians 6:4

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of anyone else" ~ Romans 15:1,2
I found the Live Well stickers at Dollar Tree!

I loved the colors of the buckets. Each three pack came in a red, mint green, & turquoise color. Great summer picnic colors. And they had a whole isle dedicated to the whole theme.

Some new looks

I've been playing around this morning. Added my shelf from Shelfari so you can see what I've been reading. And I've added a beautiful new picture at the very bottom of the page. Now I'm off to find some more goodies to list in the shop (need to update that too. I need to write a shop description-and I hate doing that).

My DH is off work today & he has a delivery to make so I'm hoping to make a day out of it & stop to eat somewhere new. I still need to add two more independent restaurants to fulfill my goal of eating at 12. You can see my whole list here.And can't forget the camera. You never know when you can find a good shot.

Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day. And hope the rest of your week is just as good :0)

Happy Memorial Day

Hello all my beautiful friends! Yeap, it's been awhile since I updated-sorry. But ya'll missed me, right? LOL!!
After the long weekend last week, I'm just now feeling like I've caught up on everything. And Dane's last day of school was this past Friday, so I had some stuff to do for that. But now school is over and I plan on getting A LOT of stuff accomplished!! I have some fun stuff planned that I would like to do with Dane (and Gracyn :0) this summer. First thing I would like to start is letterboxing.
"Letterboxing is an intriguing “treasure hunt” style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online on one of several Web sites. However, clues to finding some of the most highly-sought boxes are passed around by word of mouth. There are about 20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America alone. Individual letterboxes usually contain a log book, an often hand-carved rubber stamp and may contain an ink pad. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp on their personal log book, and leave an imprint of their personal stamp on the letterbox's logbook ."

(I'm excited about doing it, I hope Dane enjoys it too.) Also, I would like to have a "dinner party" night once a week. Just an excuse to decorate the dinner table and have some fun. I thought that he could help me with this too. He loves to get the paint, scissors & glue out to make things. Plus it would give me an excuse to try out new recipes.
Speaking of food, we had our Memorial Day cookout yesterday because sweet hubby has to work today. But they close early at 5 pm so we can still enjoy the day. We grilled steaks and kabobs and corn ( my two men could eat their weight in corn-Dane having two ears yesterday! And it was so sweet-the corn that is :0)

Along with all of this, I've got to get working on my little business. I started selling some stuff on Etsy ( and some odd things on Ebay that don't fit into the Etsy categories). But to really make this work, I have got to dedicate more time to it. My brain gets so full of ideas, now I just need to put them into something tangible. And I feel that I need to have some kind of "style". I think I might have finally found it-Bohemian. A care-free, lots of layers, mixed up kind of style. Yeap, that's me. A style that uses various things from all kinds of different styles and periods. And a style that doesn't mind scratches and chips and nicks and dog hair! (I've added some pictures of Bohemian style throughout this post)

I hope all of you have a Safe & Happy Memorial Day! Ciao for now!

Kristalized

So I've really been trying to make a job out of selling on Etsy. I've been going through closets and boxes, finding treasures that I've had FOREVER and for some reason or another, put off selling them (it all goes back to my goal of one day opening up my own shop). So now I have the resources to have an on-line shop and I'm really excited about turning it into a little part-time job - full-time if you count the others hours devoted to taking care of the kids and hubby (don't tell him that I have to take care of him-he thinks he does that all on his own) and don't forget the dogs. I really have to add this one because I spend over an hour driving all over our neighborhood last night around 10:30pm looking for the two big ones. I finally found them a block up the road. Sasha had jumped into someone's swimming pool!! I had to let her get into my car all wet and I had JUST vacuumed and cleaned it yesterday! Indy had taken off again & I had to drive a little further up the road to get him. Sometimes, I wonder about those two. They will be so good for months & then BAM!

So back to my Etsy. I finally put a link to my shop here on the blog (Thank You Jennifer). And I listed a few things today. One of them was a sweet little vintage night light that I picked up at an Estate sale. It is a lady in a pretty pink dress with ruffles. As I was cleaning it yesterday, I realized that the ruffles were made of real fabric. But it looked like they had at one time been gold but had discolored. So after debating about it, I got out a paint brush & some antique gold paint & touched up the ruffles. Wow, did it really make a difference. So I posted it on Etsy today & then some more items on Ebay (if you need a pair of Petite Juicy Couture terry cloth capris, or parts for your Camaro, let me know :0) Then went back to Etsy to figure out how to upload the Etsy button to put on the blog & the little night light had already sold! In about an hour!! Oh, if I could just do that Everyday!!!!

Top part of dress is before painting, bottom is after I "Kristalized" it!

I took this one last night in the bedroom to show how it would look.

Now it's Bragging Time!!!

Isn't she too cute?!?

Graduation Time

This coming Friday, the 16th, Dane will graduate from Pre-K! I can't believe the year has gone by so quickly. I am truly blessed that the director, Patti Kilgore, hired me as a substitute. I had such a wonderful time & really wanted to go back but since they can't take babies younger than 6 months, I didn't have anywhere to put Gracyn.
And on Sunday, the 18th, my step-daughter will be graduating from high school! One graduating from Pre-K & one from high school, one in diapers- we really know how to spread them apart! I guess we'll have something to keep us busy for about the next 18 years or so LOL

I want to give a big Shout Out to my lovely Peep Heidi! She ordered one of my lightswitch covers off of Etsy. I know they don't seem like much, but for me personally, it makes me smile each time I see one of my covers in a room. Just so much nicer than that plain ole' white cover.
And I have lots more stuff to add today-some vintage clothing, a few cute vintage knick-knacks and my newest creations-crosses! I LOVE making these crosses. It has taken me awhile to get the whole look down that I wanted. But I'm happy with the way these turned out. And for a few of you reading this, act surprised when you get one this Christmas!!!

On the backs I've placed quotes that relate to Bible scriptures. This one reads: To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge, to find the will of God is the greatest discovery, and to do the will of God is the greatest achievement. ~John 12:26
I've used a mixture of vintage & new beads for the hangers. And different painting techniques on each one. I have another batch that I'm hoping to finish today if the weather allows.

Hope you all have a great Saturday & an early "Happy Mother's Day"!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

One Tequila
Two tequila
Three tequila
FLOOR!!!

That would so be me right now. I just can't drink like I use to. I did have a craving for a Corona the other day. And it tasted so good. But just one for me. But we still love to look at the drink menus when we go out. There are always such pretty drinks with such exotic names.

So, is anybody planning anything special~other than having tacos for dinner?! :0) We like soft tacos so I buy a large pack of flour tortillas and a can of refried beans. And I've just discovered the local grocery store brand of Spanish rice. It calls for a can of tomatoes, but since dear hubby doesn't like them, I omit the can. The rice still comes out yum-O!! I might throw out some decorations, we'll see.

Remember the Camaro we bought a while back? Well, Charlie has been so busy with work over the Holidays and such, he just didn't have the energy or heart to get working on it again. But this week, he's been doing a little each night after he gets home. And on Friday, he got all of the motor up back together & cranked up. And boy does it sound good! Wish I could put audio on here. So I was asking him what else needed to be done. He said he needed to take the seats out so he could take the carpet out to cut the center console for the shifter. So in an effort to surprise him, guess what I did...took the seats out myself!! He laughed & said he wishes he had a picture of that!! I told hime I could take something apart, it was just putting it all back together was the problem.
I took some pictures of him working on the car. I'll try to post them later.
Right now it's about time for me to get Dane up for school. He graduates from Pre-K a week from Friday on May 16th & their last day of school is the 23rd. And my step-daughter, Krystin, graduates from high school on the 18th. We're hoping we can drive up to see her, but Charlie has to see if he can get that weekend off first.

Hope everyone has a safe & happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Etsy Stuff

Here are a few things I've been working on lately. Been trying to get some goodies listed in my Etsy shop.

I have no idea what happened to the picture below. I was my first time using the scanner on the new printer. Our old HP printer kicked the bucket awhile back & we got an Epson. Not very happy with the quality. But for now, it will have to do :0)
I love making these bookmarkers. They are so much fun. And they are big, fat ones too, so you can use them to swat mosquitoes!!
I have some vintage clothing listed (I must confess-I have a closets full of winter coats that I should have listed a long time ago) The blouse below was one of mine that I purchased brand new about 10-12 years ago, so that makes it vintage, right? It's still beautiful, but I just don't wear it.
I still have a ton more that I need to list. I made a journal yesterday so that I have somewhere to write down all the ideas that keep popping into my head!! And it actually turned into something I might make more of & sell :0)

It looks like it might rain which always makes me want to curl up with a book & read. I'm reading a very nice book right now called 'Milk Glass Moon' by Adriana Trigiani. It is the third in her 'Big Stone Gap' series. And they are Very Good! Also, have I mentioned my favorite new hang out on the web? It's a book site called "Shelfari". A little like MySpace, but only for book lovers. You can go check out my bookshelf & see all the books that I've read or want to read. And there are tons of forums. For any genre you can think of. I'm in one group called "Play Book Tag" where each month a member picks a tag describing a book and then we have to read a book that falls in that category. April was fantasy & I read a new book for me, 'Dead Witch Walking' by Kim Harrison. And I am totally hooked! It is a series & I just got the next two. But for May, our tag is 19th century. And I am going to read 'Gone With The Wind'. Sad to say, that I have never read this classic before. And it's a big book. It might take me the whole month!!

Off to fix another pot of coffee. Hope you have a Happy-Blue Monday :0)
~Kristal

For Gracyn

It sometimes happens, even in the best of families, that a baby is born. This is not necessarily cause for alarm. The important thing is to keep your wits about you and borrow some money.

~Elinor Goulding Smith

A Tattoo~Oh My!

My stepdaughter, Krystin, turned 18 last November. A few weeks after that, she moved out of her house with her mom & step-dad and moved in with her boyfriend, Chris. Since then, she has seemed so much happier. We've kept in contact with her a lot more, just to make sure she is doing alright and to see if she ever needs anything.
She called us the other night to tell us...GASP...yep...she got a tattoo! But after I saw what it was, I couldn't help but smile.
Her mother re-married and had two girls, Haleigh & Madison. And her dad re-married (ME!!) and we have two, Dane & Gracyn. So she had all four written within stars on her back. Not sure if she will like it when she turns forty, but for now, I think it was very cool for Big Sis' to do this.


And speaking of birthdays, I missed posting pictures of Danes' birthday back in February. He turned a whole 5 years old!! And to think that exactly one week after that, Gracyn was born. And nine days BEFORE that, Charlie turned 37. Such an old man :0)


He had a great time opening his presents.





All of this is making me think about next year, what a busy time February will be.

I saw a show on t.v. that showed you how to make a fabric banner, I think I'm going to start a "Birthday" one now for next year!!

To Sit With A Dog

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring-it was peace.
~Milan Kundera

Beach Break

On Tuesday, Charlie had to make a trip to Ft Walton Beach to pick up some appliances for a customer, so we decided to let Dane skip school & have a day at the beach. And did he have a blast!



It was a low tide & it had created a small pool with a sandbar behind it for him to run through.



Here you can see the sandbar & where the Gulf starts. He never once complained about the water being cold, but I stuck my toe in & thought it was freezing!!



He was kept trying to get me wet!!



It was a very nice day & there wasn't a lot of people, a few kids with mom's sitting on benches watching & a handful of sunbathers. It all ended way too soon. It really made me realize that we don't enjoy the beach as much as we should. So maybe, if I can find a bathing suite that fits LOL, we'll try to go more this summer.

just a quick update on our house. We've implemented Plan B: it is now for rent. With a purchase option. The ad runs in the newspaper all weekend. So keep your fingers crossed.

Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday!!

Sweet Angels

Okay, just more pictures of our sweet angel(s).

Dane looks so much older in this picture. I think this is when Charlie & I realized he's growing up so fast.
Here she is, being happy.



And not being happy.


And blissful sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And in other news, we still haven't had any bites on the house. More people have looked at it,but no offers. I'm going to put an ad in the paper for this weekend that it's for rent/lease purchase. Anything to get us out from under the note. It's killing us. I pray every day. We've been trying to sell this house for 6 months now. And we are at least two months behind. Our credit scores are shot. I keep reminding myself that it's always darkest before the dawn & that the Lord has a plan. Oh, and that He will never give us more than we can handle. But I still worry/cry every day. I hate living like this. I've really tried to start listing some items on Esty along with a few things for Ebay that don't fit into the Etsy categories. Plus I've been working on making some things. But I'm lucky if a get more than an hour at a time. I really look forward to the days Charlie's off. He really helps take care of Gracyn. And he had to work this weekend so he'll be off Tuesday & Wednesday so I'm hoping to have some finished.
Enough depressing news for now :0)

Hope everybody has a great Monday.
And that you've done your taxes!!
Ta Ta for now...

Baby's Room

Just wanted to take a few minutes & share some pictures of the newest family member and some of her world. Heidi sent the sweetest sign for Gracyn. I love her signs, you can always find one for any occasion. Thank you Heidi {{hugs}}
Here is her crib. It was Dane's & was originally a dark cherry but I sanded it down & painted it a pistachio green color. I found the beautiful quilt at Marshall's.
And here is her big pink bear from her Aunt Angie. On the wall is one of my favorite finds. I wanted to do a mermaid theme for her but didn't want it to be too Disney feeling so I decided to go with seashells and more natural colors. I found the beautiful seashell mirror at a yard sale in our neighborhood about 6 months ago. And it was only $5!!! Gotta love that!

We have a winner!

Sorry for the long delay in posting this. My only excuse is a 4 week old baby!!!
Anyway, I only had one person to answer for the magazine giveaway & it was the ever talented & endearing Heidi! If you've never seen her wonderful creations & her lovely blog, go check her out.
And the other magazine subscription in going to my wonderful friend Rachel. who doesn't have a blog but probably should, it would be a blast to read. But she calls to tell me when I need to update mine-Thanks Rachel !!!

A while back I started making light switch
covers for our house. I had so much fun
making them that I made more & listed
some on Etsy . I really thought this one would be cute in the kitchen. Check out my little shop for other covers and a few vintage items. I working at getting some more items listed, but i have to see if Little Boo is going to cooperate :0)


That's all for now folks!!

Free Magazine Subscription

I know it's been awhile since I've given anything away, so... who would like a year's subscription to the wonderful Hallmark magazine? I must confess, they are giving me a free subscription, but I have no one to give it to, so I thought I would offer it to one of you lovely peeps. Just leave a comment that you would like the magazine & your name. I'll draw someone's name on Wednesday & then get your address from you so I can send it in to the magazine. Good luck!

Baby Stuff

Things are kinda crazy around here. On Thursday, Gracyn had her first doctor visit & they said she had jaundice. So they told us to stop breastfeeding her & use formula. I didn't think it sound right but hubby was determined to get her better. Then on Friday, we went for another blood test while we were in Mobile but the lab never sent it over to the doctor in Tallahassee. Both of us were pretty aggravated at this point , so I just started breastfeeding her again. But in all the changes, it must have upset her little system because by Sunday night at 1 am, Charlie & I had to run to the drug store because she seemed to be spitting up but wasn't getting it all out & looked like she was choking on it. On Monday night at 1 am, I was back at the drug store buying suppositories because she still hadn't had a bowel movement. And at this point I am asking myself did I really want to go through all this again at my age? Of course, you know the answer to that!!
But I'm happy to say that last night, Charlie & I actually got to snuggle in bed together for the first time since having her!!
Both Gracyn & I have doctors appointments tomorrow. Her two week visit & my checkup after the birth. I'm a little worried, I feel like I'm bleeding too much. But hopefully, everything will be alright. Keep us in your prayers :0)


My mother-in-law & Dane on the day of Gracyn's birth

Welcome To The World Baby Girl

Gracyn Lynn Leaver
2-28-2008

Well, she finally made it! All 8 pounds, 6 ounces of her. She was born at 5:45 pm. Everything went fine during the birthing. But the next day, while two nurses were helping me to the bathroom (I had a planned C-section), I fainted. They ended up giving me a blood transfusion and giving me two pints of blood. I think I scared my poor sweet hubby to death. He & Dane had gone to the cafeteria to get some lunch when all of this happened. They had to call about 10 people to the room to get me back into bed & hooked up in IV's, so when the two guys came back to the room, they couldn't even see me on the bed for all the people around me. Charlie just knew I was going to leave him to raise two kids by himself!!! I told him he wasn't getting rid of me that easy :0) But everything is good now. We are home and the parents and staff at the Preschool have been great with bring food by. I am breastfeeding, which I had tried with Dane but never succeeded. It's still a learning process.
I hope to have many more post with our new addition. I have a ton of older stuff that I need to update on. I'm really not sure where my blogging mojo went, I thought about it every day. But actually sitting down & doing it was a challenge for me.
I started a new goal program this year. I have a TON of projects that I've either started & never finished or else things that I want to start. So I've made a list & named them my PUC's- Projects Under Construction. Not only do I have enough to do one for each week of the this year but next year too! But I kept it simple & am only trying to complete one per week, five per month. Some are really simple, and some will take awhile to complete. And I've been reading. Alot. I'll take another post & update all the books I've read and some of my favorites.
But for now, I think someone is hungry :0)

I Got A Nikon Camera...Love to Take a Photograph

YEAH!!! My dear, sweet hubby surprised me yesterday with a new camera! I can't tell you how out-of-the-loop I felt without the camera. I know I can still make post, but it just didn't seem the same. So today, I'm hoping to take lots of pictures. But we have a house showing at 1 pm, so please pray for us . It's a couple that has already looked once & liked it, now they are coming again for a second, closer inspection & bringing her daddy :0) I only have 5 weeks left until the baby arrives, so it would be such a blessing if they make us an offer that is acceptable. They have already stated that they want to close in March, which is perfect.
In the mean time, I'm slowly trying to box some stuff up. But I've worked at the preschool the last two weeks and I'll be working this week too. I'm really enjoying it, it just doesn't leave me much time. I do tend to be a little slower nowadays. And sleeping is becoming a MAJOR problem. Oh, to just lay down on my side & close me eyes and sleep!!!
Hope you have a fab Sunday. It's a little wet here in sunny FLA, and cold Brrrr...