August Fields

all you need is love. love is all you need.

almost two years ago i spotted some wooden signs that had this saying on it.

all you need is love.  love is all you need.

the quote is from a beatles song but i saw this through different lenses:
1 John 4:8  
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
all i need is GOD.  GOD is all i need.   (and i needed these signs!)

enter my dear friend, the super talented susie harris.  the signs i spied so long ago showed up
on susie’s blog, and i decided if susie will paint them i would buy them!  i am so pleased.

susie does amazing work….i’m sure you can find a sign that will work in your home 🙂

right behind these love signs, on the wood behind the drywall we wrote our wedding verses:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

i had to super-crop a photo from the construction phase.  you can see the black sharpie on the studs.

i long to show God’s love daily in the way i live.  do i mess up? fall down?  absolutely.
but i have a savior.  his name is Jesus.  the son of God who died for me.  and THAT is love.
the fact that God’s allowed His son to die for me?  for you?  for us?

when i start feeling froggy about something not-so-great in my life and maybe wonder “really? this situations stinks big time” i think about how God IS love.

He is pursuing little ‘ol me!

i can wallow and try to take charge on my own or i can surrender and love him more.

i can grasp and feel His love.  its a very good thing.

everyone has trials. some worse than others that’s for sure.  i have had trials.  and i STILL have trials.

grasping the truth and reality of the death of Jesus on the cross and the resurrection from the grave….
i just can. not. imagine.  my life with out my precious Lord and Savior.  He has moved mountains
in my life.

HE has LOVED me.  and that is all i need.

boys bunk room update

i finally put the new bedding on all the bunks. 
the striped duvets are from west elm and the pillow covers are from etsy.

i still wouldn’t change a thing about these bunks.  the boys love them.

they’re roomy and the individual light is so practical.

i still stand my ground that these beds are no more difficult to make than my girl’s twin beds.

the boys have a fitted sheet and a duvet cover.  no in between sheet.  its just easier this way.
if they need an extra blanket we keep a stack in the closet.

how i use pinterest.

the pinterest craze is here to stay in my book.  from a marketing brain i think its genius.  from a consumer brain i think its genius.  and from one diy decorator to another…..genius!
you can follow my pins here.  
this is an example of how i use pinterest.  one day i wanted to change up my mantle.  so i went to pinterest and put “simple mantle” in the search box.
here is my mantle before the mini makeover

here is my mantle AFTER the mini makeover

and here  (below) is the inspiration picture i used from pinterest.  
elements i replicated:  two jars on the left.  two candles on the right.  small vase of flowers.  and instead of the airy coral piece (which i didn’t have laying around the house) i layered a small mirror

i also found this super cute idea of tees in a jar awhile back and pinned it.  here is that idea come to fruition.

weekend furniture painting and questions

tomorrow the forecast is sunny and 70!!  what??  this little lovely will be going outside for a little painting pick me up.  and that pick me up will be as much for me as it is for this dresser.  go away rain!
this dresser is in our music room and will be painted a very pretty yellow.  benjamin moore’s vellum.

here is a swatch of it.   i’m really looking forward to this transformation!

now, i have two questions.

1.  this tea table is on the other side of the room.  i’m pretty sure i’m going to keep it in it’s natural state but rub it well with mineral oil.  would you paint it or leave it?

2.  i have been looking for a rug in this room for a long time….please help me!  the couch is a true charcoal gray.  the walls are  benjamin moore gray cashmere. the motif on the drapes is more teal than turquoise.  the rug needs to be an 8×10.  i can’t wait to see what you all suggest!

the craft room / nook.

welcome to our sewing and craft area!  
this area gets used for WAY more than just sewing and crafts.  we moved our old dining room table and chairs up here.  besides using it as a cutting table we often are playing games or constructing lego projects here.
this is the same angle of the bonus room during construction.  you can see the wood floor laid just beyond the ladder.

when we built the house i knew that i wanted 1/3 of the bonus room (the room above the garage) to be designated for sewing/crafting and legos/train table.  the flooring is 5″ oak and was finished on site.  the wood is great to vacuum up, find needles and play legos on.  i have no regrets!

so this is the sewing side.  the girls share the one table and i have my own nook.

 the other half is for the train table (which currently has a race track on it) and constructing legos.

this is a fort that we put in for the kids and have yet to be inspired of what to do in it.  i am open to any creative minds helping me out there! (it’s basically a walk through as you can see from the construction picture above).

here is a full shot of the sewing/craft nook

i’ll take you in a little closer for the details.

on top of the fabric cabinet is a jar of vintage buttons (that i use!) and spools of ribbon.  back in the day i had an ebay store and made custom hairbows!   🙂  i also have a collection of expandable measuring sticks.

 the bottom drawer holds linings and fillings

top shelf (L-R):  baby onsies for custom gifts, vintage letters for display, cloth diapers for custom gifts
2nd shelf : fabric
3rd shelf:  fabric and a can of spray starch.
bottom shelf: (L-R) 2 stacked floral boxes hold extra ribbon, single floral box holds fringes and embellishments, magazine holders hold machine manuals and sewing catalogs and books.

the mirror is from target.  under that i keep my basket of projects and i have a bunch of embroidery hoops that i have collected from garage sales.  the chandelier is from lowes (or home depot… i can’t remember).

the basket next to the fabric cabinet holds projects i am currently working on.  here you will see the works of pillow covers and zippered pouches. 

this is where the girls have their machines for now.  they actually do sew here, together, even though the whole foot area is small and not really accommodating.  i’m looking for some sort of countertop that is completely open underneath to replace this desk.


this white shelf used to be pea green and hung in my room when i was a little girl.

the top shelf displays a milk glass bowl and some vintage display letters.

the middle shelf has a pair of vintage sewing shears from beufort, sc and a really old Bible.  i don’t actually read from this Bible but i like that the Word is present in every corner of our home!

the bottom shelf has a divided plastic case for all of our bobbins.  the artwork on display is from  etsy artist eva juliet.

this is where i sew.  mr. daddy gave this machine to me for our first married christmas 🙂  the thread holder is from joanns.  the desk is from an estate sale.  look here for that makeover.  the chair is also a garage sale find that i remodeled before my blogging days 🙂

this cute little shelf is from ikea.  it used to be in the girls bedroom in our previous home.  the milk glass pieces are just for display as well as the glass flower frogs.

the bottom shelf has a sturdy green box (from joanns) that i keep my scrapbook paper and stickers in.  my portable sewing kit is on the right.

this wall hanging was given to me last christmas.  the girls worked on it for a really long time with my mother in law.  it is super special to me.

 this cute little cup from the target bath section holds our fabric scissors and a hole punch.

this is an easy embroidery project i did a couple of years ago.  i traced the kiddo’s hands with a pencil on white fabric.  then hand stitched on top with a teal embroidery thread.   

this is a rubbermaid drawer unit that i wasn’t using anywhere else and it fit perfectly here.

 one drawer holds the beloved label maker.  oh, how every mom should have one.   🙂

this is the ‘pencil’ drawer of the main white desk.  i found the turquoise divider at a local antique shop.  yes, i have several seam rippers. 🙂  i also keep the business cards that etsy sellers send with my purchases.  the brown wooden box was originally gifted to me with THE most yummy chocolates from john & kira’s chocolates….mmmmmm…..

now, it humbly holds tape measures, hooks and needles.

one of my drawers holds a collection of vintage flash cards.  i would love to frame and sell them…..someday 🙂

another drawer holds glitter, a circle punch, stamp pads and stamps.  in the zippered pencil case are alphabet stamps.

happy sewing and crafting!