Herbs & Spices & Baby Jars, Oh My

For some time now I've longed to have all my spices and herbs in the same type of containers.  I even had a gorgeous milk glass set that I loved, but alas it only had about a dozen bottles to the set and most of the labels were spices that I don't keep on hand.  Along came baby food jars (and a convenient though odd space between my stove and the kitchen cabinets perfect for my "spice cart").

I simply wrote out the labels on construction paper and Mod Podged them onto the lids.  Voila!

Finally...

Finally a post and finally the after pictures for our yard! It's still a work in progress, but it has come a long way. My problem was I would do a little yard work here, a little there, and there was always a large patch of yard somewhere overgrown and unhappy. This summer I was able to spend an entire day on the yard and finally felt like I was making progress. So I took a bunch of pictures so I could remember what it's like to have everything looking good at one time. It's on my list of things to do to have more days that I concentrate totally on yard work. Wish me luck!

Recycling

It's time to put away those wool sweaters, or in my case make one into a pillow because I shrank it. Some simple hand sewing was all it took to turn this thrift store cardigan into a comfy addition to our living room! Oh, and an old pillow that had stains on it.

Z-A-N-E

I was feeling crafty one night and decided to try out my new found hobby of em-
broidery. Found some scrap fabric, got out
my hoop and thread, and framed the results. Zane loves it and is learning to spell his name!

Homemade Diffuser

Ok, I'm cheating. Just posting a link today. Our internet has been temperamental so I want to be quick and to the point while it is appeasing me at the present.

My Bookshelf

I get good ideas from other blogs all the time and this one I really liked because I love to read. Our "bookcase" is a curio cabinet my grandfather made for me when I was a teenager. He made one for all of his granddaughters. There are only 2 of us out of 12 grandchildren, but it was no small task considering the craftsmanship that went into the curios.

You'll notice I started organizing our books by color until you get to the bottom shelf. Well, as new books came in, I wasn't about to shift all the books on every row downward to make room for a white book on top! Next time I'll remember to leave a little space on each shelf.

Hand in Hand

Thrifting and craftiness go hand in hand. I purchased a skirt from the fifty cent room at one of these stores because it matched my office/guest room. I covered an old pillow with the outside fabric (you can see it goes nicely with the pair of pillows I bought here for a buck). And my next project is to cover another pillow with the lining of the skirt.

Welcome

During this slushy season we've been directing guests to enter our house through the garage. It's just a little easier to remove shoes and such avoiding sloppy wetness on our hardwood floors. It's not a big deal to get a paper towel and clean up such messes, but let's face it, as a guest you don't want to go sloshing mud and snow into someone's house upon your arrival and I don't want our guests' first emotion as they enter our home to be embarrassment. Enter...



This area used to be where I kept all my cleaning supplies. Not exactly welcoming. I've since added some rugs under the bench and chairs at the suggestion of my husband so that you don't have to step on the cold concrete after you've removed your shoes. Sigh. Much better.

Featured Crafters

Today I want to highlight some of my favorite crafts on sale at Etsy. Can you see the theme?

pendant by missficklemedia

wristlet by EmiShimosato

headband by Frosting Couture

coasters by 12fifteen

pony tail holders by MaryMarsh

hat by Two Seaside Babes

God is Interested in Housework

As the holiday season dies down and life gets back to normal, usual, maybe mundane, I encourage you to invite God into your mundaneness. I know that's not a word because it's underlined with red little lines right now. A couple weeks ago I was feeling stressed, writing in my journal a list of all the things I had in my mind to do, but never seemed to think of them when I could take the time to do them. I told God that I just can't do it all. I need help. I'm learning to stop and listen when I pray and not just pray and go on with my doings. I could tell you the solution God gave me and how I tried it the next day and I got way more done than I expected to, but the solution for my problem is not the point. It would be a great tip for all, but I would rather you imagine Jesus walking into your house and putting his arm around you the next time you're feeling overwhelmed and gently telling you how you can remedy your stressful situation.

My Precious China

For the first time today, I shall post a video. I recently had to rearrange some things in my kitchen because of the antics of my son. We decided to capture his mischief and let him go at it since the plan to revamp was in place. We don't have a formal dining room in our house, so no hutch to put my china in. I rarely use it, but love it none the less, and had it stored in the corner cupboards; out of the way I thought. Enjoy.

A New After Picture

As you can see from this previous "after" picture, there's something missing to the left of the refrigerator; shelves! Well, no shelves no more! My hubby's handy juices were flowing and he put up the shelves that I've been longing for.

Zane seems to like the addition as well.

Dear Santa

As some of you may know, every year around Christmas time Oprah Winfrey hosts a special episode of her show where she gives away her favorite things to every member of the studio audience; Oprah's favorite things. If I were to do such a thing for my readers this is what I would give to you all. Two differences between Oprah's favorite things and Bethany's favorite things: 1. Oprah actually gives things away, I would just really like to give them away. 2. Oprah gives away things that she personally owns and loves, whereas the one qualifier for this list of things I'd love to give you all is that they're all things I want! So enjoy perusing this list of prizes you would get if I were rich and if you're looking for gift ideas for a certain thirtysomething, crafty girl....

• Where is Baby's Belly Button? by Karen Katz
  
• The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Tracy Hogg
• Shepherding Your Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
• To Train Up a Child by Michael Pearl
• Thomas the Tank Engine board books
• Lamaze board books
• fabric
• scrapbook paper
• paper punches
• yarn
• a sweater
• pants
• tweed trousers
• gloves
• one panel pewter shower curtain
• this rug
• these throw pillows
• this 5x8 rug
• art
• lamp shade
• verse plaque
• 5 picture frames
• outdoor chaise
• silicone whisk
• hair care products
• ginger and sesame salad dressing
• anything from jcasa handmade
• anything from serenitymeadow
• an owl from old school acres
• crest whitestrips
• freezer
• Addi circular knitting needles
  

Happy Birthday to Me!

Birthdays are still my favorite, though 31 is not quite as exciting as 30. My hubby did great this year, he watched Zane so I could work on the yard uninterrupted (that's what I wanted) while he installed these under cabinet lights above the stove.

Before

AfterWe ordered in Chinese, also what I wanted, and he bought me these snazzy slippers.

And best of all he watched Zane while I took a 3 day road trip to Pittsburgh to visit my longest friend and her new baby.

The Nursery and the Office/Guest Room

Here it is, folks, the final before and after pics of the house.

The nursery with orange shag carpet with pink flecks. I actually loved it and planned on making area rugs out of it, but it was just too old and nasty.

If you look closely you can see the shape of every frame the previous owner hung on these walls.

After. A great surprise to find gorgeous hardwood floors under the shag.

If you ever come to visit us, this is where you'll stay!

The Master Bedroom

Before. Oh darn it, I cut off the cat border.

After.

This dresser was given to my grandmother when she got married.

Her initials and the year she got married are on the front.

Zane in the womb, rocks from the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada, and a doily my Great Aunt Lydi made.

The Living Room

Before. No, the fireplace is not real, but the heart border is.

After.

The Kitchen

Blankets

Tis the season for curling up in a nice cozy blanket, especially if you have a frugal, energy saving husband. My favorite kind are of the homemade variety especially blankets made by someone special. Here are my favorite.

My mom had me pick out all the fabric for this one. It took her 2 years to get to it, but then she completed it from start to finish in one week (the week before Christmas). Go Mom.

This is one my mom knitted when she was a teenager. She thinks it's the only thing she's ever knitted. Pretty impressive.

This one Jake's grandmother (Nana) made for Zane as shown below.