I'm in Trouble

Well.....I've gotten myself in a mess:( I started removing Anna's wallpaper and I am in bad trouble indeed. I have removed approximately 2,500 sq. ft. of wallpaper from this house and I thought I had encountered every kind of wallpaper problem there could be, but alas...I was wrong.

Girls, this paper will NOT come off.

This small corner of the room has taken me over 12 hours.:( I've tried Downey and hot water. I've tried vinegar and hot water. I've let the solutions set....but the problem is this. When the room was built, they did not prime the walls as they were suppose to AND they used gorilla glue. Well, probably not, but, whatever kind of glue it is I have never encountered such a thing.

It is only coming off in teeny, tiny pieces. I've torn the sheet rock multiple times already from trying to soak the paper too long, which means extensive repair work. My only hope now is that my dear, sweet hubby will come to my rescue once again and save the day by......putting up bead board for us:) Yep....I've got a new plan. Wish me luck!!
xoxo Shine

Never grows old

Today I'm going to link up with Kathy again for another one of her blog parties. I always find great ideas at these parties and always come away making sweet new friends.
One of my paternal aunts passed away a while back. She was in her nineties and a spunky little thing right up to the last. She had this painting in her home for many years and I feel very honored to now have it in mine.

She had it in a very flimsy little frame, but I found this one at an antique shop and it was a perfect fit. :))))

It also doesn't hurt anything that hubby dear just happens to be custom picture framer. All that being said, I love the picture. I love having Jesus in my dining room. Well....you know....He's always there, but I love looking at the picture. So nice to reflect when we are having our meals. The picture never gets old. I could look at it forever and never tire of it.
A sweet friend gave me the little sheep linen for Christmas....I LOVE IT!!

So cute with all the little sheep lined up in a row. All hand stitched....and I just love that little black sheep at the end.....sometimes I think that's me:)

Jesus watching over me....I like that.
Stop in and see A Delightsome Life today......you won't be sorry!!
Blessings~~Shine

I'm going in

I have had a spinning wheel now for about 8...maybe 10 years. We bought it, finished it, assembled it....I played with it sporadically, but I have never given myself over to it.

I love looking at my wheel....and I've dreamed over the years of making her fly...and spinning the most beautiful of yarns.

I just never could seem to make the time to learn it properly. I wanted to make gorgeous yarn, but when I spun, my yarn was knobbly and not even cute like the popular knobby yarns these days...just ugly and wrong. 

Most people wonder why on earth I would want to do such a thing in the first place....just go buy yarn. I can't explain it, it's just something I yearn to do....and not only just do, but do well. Have you ever seen gorgeous handspun yarn? If not take a look here. This yarn lady is awesome. Her yarn is exactly what I want to do. SO precise and gorgeous. 

For the past two weeks, I have been pondering on my wheel. She has been beckoning me to come and master her, and guess what? I do believe that now is the time. For the first time since I've had my wheel, I did manage to produce a fairly decent yarn. Not willing to share that just yet, but it wasn't all bad, and now, I'm jumping in head first. I've been in touch with my spinning lady who has DVD's ordered for me....rovings for me and best of all....I'll be having some private lessons.

So soon dear friends.....very soon...you'll be seeing lots of postings on newly spun yarn. Who knows???? Perhaps even an etsy shop in the near future:) Whatever is calling your name girls....go for it....CARPE DIEM!!!

Blessings ~~Shine

Too good to be quiet about:)

In our home, we have lots of OLD furniture. Some we bought at yard sales, flea markets...etc. Sometimes out of necessity, sometimes, when we were fortunate, just because we love old things. I have tried over the years to take care of what we have, just kinda felt a responsibility to do that. One day one of my sisters said that we (my husband and I) were better caretakers of what God had blessed us with than anyone she knew. That made me feel like it mattered....the things I do. To think that God blesses us is beyond my comprehension, but, maybe, that is why I do the little things I do....to be a good caretaker of my blessings:)

Once while visiting a favorite  blog...(I have many:))....I read where Cass had used a new product that she gave very high reviews. This product truly is amazing. It's inexpensive, so I thought I'd give it a try. What do you think?......these are the results.

No need to tell where I used it:) If you love your old furniture, you need to feed it...it really does dry out:(
Just thought this may be useful to some other antique lover. Think I'm going to have to order some more:) The product name is Feed-N-Wax. You may be able to purchase it locally, but it was easier for me to order it. Hope you all have a lovely and VERY blessed evening.
PS.....Think I'll link this up with a new sweet friend, Kathy, at A Delightsome Life. Visit her awesome blog for lots of new inspiration and ideas!!
Much love~~Shine

What a TREAT!!!!

Sophie was wondering...
Have you ever seen parisiennefarmgirl ? If not, you NEED to go see her site...she has an awesome blog AND she's having a super giveaway. Go here to see her latest surprise and her giveaway!! ~~Blessings~~Shine

Time to stop.....and start again.

For the last two days, I have been in the twilight zone. After the busyness of Christmas, we decided to take the youngest kiddos and head to the mountains. It is amazing girls. We were literally only 15 miles or so from our home, but it felt like another planet. It was 15 miles up into the mountains....where there is nothing. No wi-fi, no cable, barely any cell service. Wow. I had almost forgotten how it feels to go "off grid". I must say, I love my wi-fi. I can do without television.....all the latest gadgets...but I want my computer. Weird. I never thought I'd say that. I always felt like I could be a million miles away from anyone or anything and be perfectly content, but I really had to work on it:) I did enjoy my family....my quiet time with my Beloved, I was just very ready to get back home. Now that I'm back to the real life:)....time to think about a new year and all the hopes and dreams that come with it. As I look back on last year's New Year's ambitions, I'm a little encouraged...kinda sorta, in a way:) I did manage to accomplish some of my goals....and hey! we do the best we can..right? Here's what I managed to actually get done.

I did get new window treatments for my dining room
I did get a mantle for my stone fireplace!!
I did go on a diet and lost 28 lbs! I had major cosmetic dental work done that I had put off for WAY too long, and I started going to get my hair done professionally! (These 3 things were probably the most major)
I finished lots of projects
I made 4 quilts and helped Anna with 2
I knit one pair of socks

So see...I DID make a little progress!!

Now, for 2012
First...
I want to spend more time in God's word.
I want to spend more quality time with my family.
As far as projects
I REALLY want to give my kitchen a facelift..she's tired:)
Strip wallpaper in Anna's bedroom/bathroom and paint/redecorate.
Paint my bedroom...MAYBE reconfigure the master bath
Strip, replace boards, and repaint our deck (MAJOR)
Four quilts.
Knit two pairs of socks
Knit a beautiful cashmere scarf
Take a spinning class...for my spinning wheel:)

Glory! That's alot!!! Oh well! I'll do my best:)
Now I leave you with my last Christmas shots....and a blessing and a prayer for you my sweet friend. I pray God's favor will shine on you and He will BLESS you abundantly.

Much love~~Shine

To be Pink, or not to be Pink....that is the question

Today I am linking up with Beverly and the Pink Saturday gang to share my daughter's bedroom, and the debate on whether to change this room or not, or.....perhaps I'm even asking more for advice on, how should we change this room? Anna has a beautiful room right now. How about stepping inside.....

Gotta tell ya girls....it's pretty pink:)

Let's walk on in and take a look.  I really do think it's pretty cute just like it is.

 Why do little girls have to grow up?

 This is my favorite picture of Anna w/the verse from Psalms "....that our daughters be as pillars, sculptured in palace style."

 Sweet little bed with all her handmade pillows.

 Electrical entertainment area:)

 And....the pink powder room.

 I don't know....seems to me, she has such a lovely little space.

 Trinkets from sweet friends.

 Old pink cabinet bought for $10.00:)

The closet had no doors, so we fashioned this curtain made from eyelet fabric.
Now.......Anna just turned 13 and is very much wanting a change-a-roo. When we bought this house, the whole thing, and she's a big girl, was covered with wall paper. Very much in vogue for the 70's and 80's, but it all HAD to go.....except this room. I just felt like it was a perfect little girl room. We plan to put our house back on the market in the spring, so I suppose painting it a more neutral color would not be such a bad thing. We found a most gorgeous inspiration from Miss Gracie's House, and have somewhat of an idea on SOME things. I need some advice though. Anna has said she could go with a neutral color on the walls, but, then she's really wanting lots of contemporary elements. One thing we are definitely doing is the Music Speaks stencil Renee and her daughter used....just not sure what color background to use. Anna would love to have purple....but wouldn't that get old? We plan to make it portable so we can take it with us when we move. These are the colors she loves......electric purple, lime green, and solar blue:) Hmmmmm....just can't quite get a picture for it. Well....I would LOVE it if you could give me some input. Promise....I'll share the after pictures too. Blessings...Shine