Spring Is Here!

...and in my home once the snow is gone (or mostly gone) my hubby and kids can NOT be kept inside! Hubby loves to work in the yard and as a result we have the best backyard in the subdivision (I am by no means biased ;-). This spring's big project was replacing the outdoor garden canopy that was wind wrecked last summer in a storm. I found one that I really liked at Menard's and my husband the carpenter said "I want something that is going to stay put!" So we worked together to compromise on a design. It's very simple...very in keeping with our Prairie style house. Large posts and beams are stained dark, almost black, brown while understated decorative arches are left naked. A medium brown fabric cover coordinates nicely with the dark and naked wood and our existing outdoor furniture. He did the woodworking and I sewed the cover. So, eight 6x6, four 2x10s, 5 yards of out door fabric and about 80 grommets later we have a masterpiece! Tell me you don't agree....

Mother's Day Gift...a little late

My mom's birthday is the first week of May and so many a year I have combined her gifts...this year was no exception. Well, the exception is that there are just a few days left in May and I JUST now giving her gift to her! I made her a custom cushion set for her deck swing (that's partly why it's late...I didn't tell her I was doing this until her birthday and then I let her pick the fabric so I had to wait for fabric to arrive). Speaking of fabric, she picked this really cute outdoor fabric by Diversitex at www.fabric.com I made two seat cushions, two back cushions, side arm rests, a center arm rest and two matching pillows. I am really pleased with how it turned out and I hope she is, too. (The kids and I snuck down while she was at work and left them for her to find). Check out the pictures below.

On a separate note...one of my diaper totes was featured on a rockin' blog today! Check it out here:
www.PunkRockerByeBaby.blogspot.com
and you can check out her Etsy shop at www.RockerByeBaby.etsy.com for funky finds for your little one.