candy canes

unfortunately, i again didn't make the junk jaunt.  lucky for me my wonderful mom loves to go. one of the things i wanted her to look for was old canes. i saw these & knew they would be a perfect addition to the greenery that i put in my wash tub.  greenery is about all the outdoor decorating i can do with the lovely ne winds. 

the canes were pretty easy to turn into candy canes.  burlap ribbon, red ribbon, & lots of hot glue.  when i was done, i had glue gun strings and burlap fuzz all over me.  

an early christmas gift

its been just as crazy this fall.  football that went RIGHT into basketball, dance, girl scouts...

this year we decided to brave the almost 14 hour car drive with 4 kids under 10 and go visit my sister in law for thanksgiving... in montana!  while i don't recommend the drive in the fall (i saw 38 live deer, 10 dead deer, 2 horse and 2 shooting stars on the way out alone) it was a great trip.  i went on a  local hike once we got there, enjoyed tons of good company, fellowship and food.  i was sad when we had to leave.  and since i knew that i wouldn't see the family again at christmas, i tried to get all my christmas gifts done to bring out there so that i didn't have to mail them.  TRIED is the key word.  i forgot to account for being gone for the week before we left.  but i did get half of them done.  that saved me a good chunk of postage.  especially this guy right here.  

when i was making my x's and hearts for valentines last year, inspiration struck that r would love a barn wood 'w'.  because i wanted to see her expression, i made her open it while we were out in mt.  she cant wait to get their basement finished so she can hang it up.  

look at that beautiful weathered wood detail!

back to the basement for me.  this elf needs to keep her butt in gear or the rest of the gifts wont get finished.

its supposed to be spring

i thought it was sping.  that's what the calendar says, and how its kinda felt for the past week or so.  but apparently mother nature has different ideas.

i would guess we around 6" of snow.  our poor ornamental apple tree always buds out and blooms early.  he wont look very pretty for the rest of the year.  

it was pretty windy last night and yet into this morning.  my snow covered shed. 

and our trees doing their job, stopping wind and creating drifts.  i miss my big tree line!!! i didnt notice the north winds unless it was blowing over 50 mph.

to help us think happy warm spring thoughts, i thought i better share my new bunting.  i used a little help from walmart with the carrots.  they were on a shorter hemp twine.  and i wanted some bunnies for easter. using glitter felt and buttons left over from b's baby shower, i sewed two bunnies together and then added the buttons.  

late heart day decor

so a few weeks ago, nebraska was blessed by storm kayla.  it wasnt the most snow that i have seen, but the wind was CRAZY!!!  thank God that part only lasted for a day.  we had a monster drift/pile across the majority of the driveway.  we are very lucky to have awesome neighbors!  so since i was prepared to be stuck at home for a few days (who doesnt love a good snow day???) i got some of my craft projects completed.  

i know it isnt the best lighting picture, but i love how this one shows what it looked like outside.  this was the ONLY window we could see out of.  the rest were all covered in snow.  somewhere out there is my driveway, under at least 4' of snow.  i did a quick and cute valentine's bunting to hang up in the picture window.  i love the lace. 

this was a pinterest idea.  she had used old window trim.  i happen to have an old barn door lying around.  it was again super easy to do-hardest was getting the nails out so that i could use the wood.  just measure, mark & cut.  then determine placement of boards, carefully flip one up, glue and just in case add a few nails.  then i cut old scrap boards & nailed them to the back of the smaller squares so that i could have my heart 'o's-one cause they needed some support to stand & two cause the big silver heart below broke in half.  free hand a little heart, fill it in with some paint & your done.  i really like how they turned out.  also gave me an idea for a christmas gift.....

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

 i just love greenery in my old wash tub.  and this sled has many memories of winters from many years ago.  including chipping my tooth.

peeking at the spruce trees thru our weeping willow covered in some of the thickest frost i have ever seen.

i also love pictures when you can catch the snow falling.  someday i want to do family pictures on a beautiful snowy day.  

and now for the craft portion.  i made this winter bunting the other night.  it was SO easy.  the hardest part was doing a bit of math to get the correct length for some drape.  trust me 10" will be perfect (i thought it should be 16" too much)  i used my pinking blade on my rotary cutter on the triangles & did a simple zigzag on the sides.  i then cut a strip about 1/2 to 3/4" wide of the left over burlap i had from the table runner.  i zigzaged on 1 side of that to help stop the fraying.  i then kept with the same zigzag to attach my triangles.  tied a knot in both ends and hung it up.