New Years Greetings from our family to yours!

  Hope and change have been the theme of this past year, which is common for an election year. Unfortunately, our hopes fade quickly as we realize there really isn't much "change" happening regardless of which party is in office.         Our disappointmen

[ read more ]

Your Name, a Name of Character

I got this idea from my friend Kelly. WHAT A GREAT IDEA! I think we'll do this this evening, what a great way to bring in the new year.   Kelly writes: One year, we made an acronym from our last name, "Crawford". Each letter stood for a character trait that we wanted to emu

[ read more ]

PURGE!

There is nothing like a house full of new stuff to make a mom want to PURGE the house of all UNNECESSARY STUFF! Starting in my bedroom and working my way through the house today...oh yeah, and I am delegating areas to the kiddos too! :o) One trash pile, one thrift store pile, one e-bay pile, one B

[ read more ]

Easy Place Cards

The purpose of hospitality is to make your guest feel welcome. They will notice a warm smile and a cheerful attitude alot more than they will notice how the food tasted or if the house is spotless. True hospitality is from the heart, because the greatest gift you can give anyone is your time and att

[ read more ]

Evergreen Basket

Use a wet oasis in a basket or what ever you'd like, the more unique the better. First fill in the lower outer edges with fuller greens. Fill in open spaces with 2-3 different greens. Use pine cones, berries, ornaments, twigs...anything to garnish your arrangement. These are good

[ read more ]

Christmas Decorations

You can hop on over to my homemaking blog to see some of Christmas decorations.   The interior decorations are HERE.       The exterior decorations are HERE.      They are pretty simple but they are me. :o)       Building a HOME!   The atmos

[ read more ]

Christmas Preperations

The Christmas spirit is finally hitting here!         Check out the bread and butter tip over on my homemaking blog.           Emma has the tree up, stockings are hung and today Jeff and I made this neat wreath and hung some other greens. I l

[ read more ]

From Our Inbox- Rag Quilt

From Our Inbox- Rag Quilt

When I receive e-mails like this one it blesses me beyond words!  Thank you Kim for sharing!       Ladies, take note of what Kim has done, even without all the fancy tools and new fabrics. GREAT JOB!!!       Hi Kathy,       Here are pictures of t

[ read more ]

Lack of Christmas Spirit? Me too…

I apologize for the lack in post, I've been pretty busy on the home front, as I am sure all of you are as we prepare for the Christmas season. . With Olivia being out of town and other circumstances that just can't be helped (anyone else out there have strained relationships  :o/ ?)&nb

[ read more ]

Not Leisure

To be placed at a 45 degree angle in a reclining chair, drink in one hand, remote control in the other, in front of the television, is not leisure but something closer to sloth of mind and body. James Taylor             .

[ read more ]

Storage Solutions- Sugar Boxes

If you shop at Sams you can get their Domino sugar boxes (2 lb bags of 10 x sugar and brown sugar are shipped in) and use them for storage. They are good boxes and have lids. These fit perfectly under our beds. I also use them to store empty caning jars in the shed. Because they are uniform in size

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It or Sell It - Rice Packs

Make It, Give It or Sell It – Rice Packs

You know those cold winter nights that you just can not get warm? Rice packs are the answer!All you have to do is pop them in a microwave for 3 minutes, flip them over and heat for another 3 minutes ( do not over heat). They stay warm a long time. I love to use mine when my legs ache or if I have a

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It, or Sell It – Receiving Blankets

We are blessed to have LOTS of babies in our circle of friends. I am always looking for ideas for gifts to make and give that are nice, yet not extremely time consuming. These receiving blankets are easy to do, and can be really cute! You could make several in a day or two to have on hand for gift

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It or Sell It – Rag Quilts

I absolutely love doing these! They are so easy and they do not need to be perfect. This is a great beginner's project. For a baby rag quilt you will need: a total of 2 yards of fabric   (for this project I have used 1 yard of each color). If you want to use batting you will need ab

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It, Sell It - Rum Balls

Make It, Give It, Sell It – Rum Balls

  I love this recipe at Christmas time.     They can be made way ahead of time, then hide them.   Rum Balls: 1 1/2 cups toasted pecans, finely chopped 1 1/4 cups finely crushed shortbread or vanilla wafer cookies

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It or Sell It – Bottle Cap Pin Cushions

Bottle Cap Pin Cushions These are easy to make, pretty and useful too! They also make good little gifts for aspiring needlecrafters! Because we do alot of quilting around here, and hopefully we'll attempt apparel sewing this year, these are handy to have on hand...lol!!! I made several of the

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It or Sell It -Wooden Gift Tags

      We made a BUNCH of these last year and sold them.       We made wall hangings and gift tags from them. I thought they were pretty cool and next to no money in them! Some simply said Merry Christmas or Welcome, others had all the names of the family members. If you

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It, or Sell it - Snowball Candles

Make It, Give It, or Sell it – Snowball Candles

Lay freezer paper down, shinny side up to work on. You could also use wax paper.   Melt candle wax or paraffin wax in a double boiler on med-high heat. Do not melt on high. Cut wicks about 6 inches. If you are not using wicks that are already wax coated you need to dip them in your melted wax

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It or Sell It - Marshmallow Shooters

Make It, Give It or Sell It – Marshmallow Shooters

  Marshmallow Shooters    Gray Electrical 1/2" PVC Cut with a hack saw: ONE   6" ONE 10"  TWO 2 1/2" ONE 3" TWO 3 1/2"      Join with: TWO caps     TWO elbows TWO Ts  Do not gule them, they just slide t

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It or Sell It – Granola

Granola can be real simple with a few ingredients or it can be loaded with goodies! It is also good to make a big batch to keep in your emergency supplies. For this batch I used: Rolled Oats Oat Groats Coconut Oil Honey Raises Sunflower Seeds Pumpkin Seeds Salt Va

[ read more ]

Make It, Give It or Sell It...Bath Products

Make It, Give It or Sell It…Bath Products

      We are strong believers in the entrepreneur spirit! We are always looking for ways to make a profit from home, which is not always in the form of money.     We want our children to know about all aspects of business. Hopefully our children will have built their own bu

[ read more ]

Puppy Training

      Yesterday we received our new puppy. Now isn't he adorable?! He will be Emma's responsibility to train.     Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan: Power of the Pack     Training a puppy is good training for future parenting. Those pups are a lot smarter t

[ read more ]