Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from The Shewmakers!!

Here is a highlight of my Christmas decorating.  I have 4 trees this year. 

The Family Tree in the Living Room

The Christmas Tree in the extra bedroom that you can see when you're coming up the driveway.  I did this in red and silver and all glitter ornaments! 

Here is the tree in my son, Heath's, room.  He has a UK Wildcat room.  So naturally, his tree is decorated in blue.  The topper was actually his idea.  He has good style!

And here is the tree in my daughter, Payton's, room.  Does your white tree look yellow after a couple of years?  I might have to get a new one if I can find one on sale.  It matches her room too.

Have you ever noticed how everything is arranged when you put it up and by the time Christmas gets here all the ornaments have been rearranged three or four times???  Oh well, It is her tree, I guess she can have the colors not distributed evenly if she wants:)

Here is my mantel.  I LOVE that I put my nativity in the fireplace.  It makes it the center of attention.  And after all, Jesus is the reason for the season!

God has certainly blessed my family this year with our new house and so many other things.  I am thankful for our health and prosperity.  I only hope that I can continue to realize how fortunate we are and be able to help others and show the love of Christ to them in the coming year.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hello Kitty

Yesterday was my niece Ella's 5th Birthday.  My sister in law asked me to make her a Hello Kitty cake.  She just wanted it to be the head.  So I thought it can't be too hard right?  Well, it was probably the easiest cake I have ever made.  Here is the end result and then I'll tell you how I cut it out.

 I baked 2 9X13 cakes.  Completely let the cake cool and then place in the fridge before cutting.  Cut out the oval for the face and cut 2 of the corners off of what was left for the ears.  It was as easy as that.  Attach the ears with icing.  Looking at the picture, I recognize the fact that I should have smoothed the icing a little better:)  I just used leftover halloween candy for the eyes and nose and licorice twizzlers for the whiskers.  She loved it!

Happy Crafting!!

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Thanksgiving

I can't believe it is that time of year again.  My life seems to be slipping away from me.  Did you know that I turned 30 this year and my baby turned 3??  I have so many blessings in my life but I'm a little lost about what comes next.  I know God will show me the next plan for my life when he's ready, but I'm not a patient person:)  Anyway, I found this charger at Walmart the other night.  I know it was less than $4 but can't exactly remember the price.  I don't have a single Thanksgiving decoration, so I thought I would make this one.  I used my Silhouette to cut out the words Give Thanks.  I debated about the color to use, but am happy with my final choice.  So here is the end result for less than $5 total. 

So go to Walmart and get your Silhouette out ladies & Happy Crafting!!

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Halloween Fun

We did our trick or treating Saturday night in Harrodsburg, but it took me this long to get the pics loaded.  Heath was a rapper & Payton was a "Good" Witch.  She made everyone know this because they said not to wear witch costumes to the church trunk or treat event.  Oh well, I didn't know before I bought it;)

Here's my tip for Halloween hats!  Payton's fell off every 5 minutes at the Trunk or treat, so Saturday I knew  I had to do something different.  Maybe you've seen this trick before.  Maybe you've got a better trick. If you do, then leave a comment and let me know!  But I just hot glued a head band inside the witch hat so it wouldn't fall off & it helped the hat hold form!!

Happy Crafting!

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My Silhouette

Have I told you how much I love my Silouhette!!  I had a cricut, hated it, it tore up within 1 month of having it and could NOT get the company to correspond with me.  I've had my Silouhette for almost a year now.  I didn't use it much while we were in our "transition" house.  But now that I'm here, I have room and use it all the time!!  I thought I would give you another glance at our new house by showing you one way I have used my silouhette.

 

I made this lettering with the Silhouette Vinyl.  I love it!!  And it looks so much better than those tacky stick on letters.   How do you use your silouhette??

Happy Crafting!


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Homemade Jewelry Holder

I finally made one!!  I've have adored these for a year.  So once I moved in to our new house, I couldn't wait.  I didn't do a step by step, but here is the finished product.

I used an old frame.  I covered the glass with fabric first and then black tulle.  The tulle allows you to hang earrings without taking from the look.  I also drilled small holes in the bottom to insert hangers for necklaces.

There are many ways and versions out there in blogland.  Here are some of my faves:

http://bargainbabe.com/2009/09/17/homemade-earring-and-jewelry-holder/

http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2009/05/diy-recycled-frame-jewelry-holder/

http://sosewwhimsy.net/2011/01/31/handmade-jewelry-frame-holder/

Missing My Daddy

It's been a year since my 49 year old father died of a heart attack.  I've held up pretty good today, spending the majority of the day with my grandparents (who I love dearly) and my brother.   I still think of him every day and just about the time I think all my tears are dry, here they come again.  My dad wasn't a perfect dad.  But he was mine and I loved him.  A lot of people saw a lot of faults but I saw a man that struggled and all the while wanted better for his children.  Loved them enough to stay away at times.  Loved them enough to say he was wrong.  It took me until I was an adult to realize this, but better late than never. 

On that morning, my Grandma called to tell me he had passed.  I sat on the kitchen floor praying to God that my Daddy was in Heaven.  I knew he believed in Jesus.  But I've never lost anyone I was close to, so it wasn't something I thought about too much.  Of course he was in Heaven, right?  But he was a sinner, an alcoholic, not perfect.  I've never had a bigger sense of peace than I did at that very moment.  God wrapped his arms around me and told me everything was alright.  That my Daddy had made it home.

When we went back to his apartment to get his belongings, I found a list of bible verses on his fridge.  I don't know where they came from, but I know they were dear to him because they were stained and faded.  The title was "You say, God says."  You can read them all HERE.  It's here that I found the verse that is now on his monument. 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My Grace is Sufficient for You."  God never asked my Daddy to be perfect, just that he believe in Jesus and turned over his problems to him. 
I always felt like everyone thought of my Daddy as a sinner.  I hated that they judged him because I knew who he was underneath his addiction.  But the days surrounding his funeral I heard "your Daddy was a special person", "he always had a smile", "he always made me laugh", "he never met a stranger".  That was my Daddy and I was so proud that they caught a glimpse of the real him.   Anyone who has a family member with an addiction can relate when I say, their addiction is your problem.  But I will also tell you that I respect that man probably more than anyone I have ever known.  He struggled, and although sometimes misguided, he got up every day and pressed on.  Each day determined that he would do better than he had the day before.  Some days he did, some days he didn't.  He faced people that had given up on him.  He faced people that looked down on him.  But he kept going.  He loved with everything he had.  I never had a Daddy that could buy me a new car or take me on fancy vacations.  But I had a Daddy that loved me more than life itself.  Not everyone can say that! And I miss him dearly.

I take care of people.  It's what I've done since I was a little girl and its what I do for a living.  I love to make flowers for the cemetary.  It makes me feel like I'm still taking care of my Daddy.  Some people think that it's morbid to take pictures of monuments, but it is comforting to me for some reason.  Everyone deals with a loss the best way they know how I guess.

Remembering my Daddy today, Thomas Lee Rakestraw, "JR".  Loved & Missed.

XOXO

Payton's Goodwill Chandelier

Waaaayyyy back in May I started revamping a chandelier that I got at Goodwill.  I knew I wanted a cutesy, princess-like light fixture for Payto's new room and hoped I could turn this, into just that!  I wish I had taken pictures of the "before" BUT I forgot.  So you can picture it.  It was BRASS.  You know the ones.  They fill Goodwill shelves everywhere and if you've been alive for more than 15 years, one of these used to hang in your house or atleast your grandparent's house!

I first took everything apart.  A good note would be to draw a diagram about what came from where!  My husband had a funny little joke about me trying to be Martha Stewart while the electrician was putting it back together.  Good thing the electrician is my uncle!  After that, I taped off everything that didn't need to be painted, like the inside of the light socket.
 
I put on 2 coats of spray paint and that's all it took!

And here is the finished product...................

I think it turned out great!  And if you need a reminder about how I covered those lamp shades you can check out my previous post HERE.

Happy Crafting!!


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It's Been A While

Well boys and girls, it's been a few months since my last post.  What have I been doing?? 

THIS:

It's finally finished!  We've been in about a month and since I took a week off work, I unpacked the last box this week (besides the 10X20 storage buillding).  I will post more pics and have all kinds of projects to post soon:)  It's not over though.  The painter has put a mechanic's lien on our house.  He got fired and wants his money anyway.  The NERVE of some people.  It is a disaster and I still don't know how its all going to go over, but time will tell.  Talk to you soon!

The Garden Is Up

The garden is up and let's hope these 90+ degree days don't kill it before it gets started!  The whole family helped plant two weekends ago.  See that contraption my husband is using?  It is an antique furrower.  It's the coolest, simplest thing I've ever seen.  It makes your rows.

And two weeks later, we have:

Corn

Green Beans

Peas












And the rest I have no idea.   I could look up pictures of the seedlings, but I know somewhere in this mix is cucumbers, squash, zucchini, watermelon, pumpkin & cantaloupe.

We have Ceilings!!

House Update:  Today they started dry walling the ceilings!!  We're getting CLOSER:)

Standing at the front door looking toward the living room.

Standing in the living room looking into the dining room.

One side of living room looking toward kitchen.

Other side of living room looking towards fireplace.  See that big square?  That's where the TV is going.

Standing in living room by french doors looking toward entry way.

Payton is in her room.  Notice the winter dress shoes she has on with her sundress?  She thought it looked good (and we weren't going anywhere important!)

Stairs leading to the Bonus (Play) Room.

Heath's Room with Ceiling!

Kids Hallway with ceiling!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!