this precious life.

in the last few weeks (as i prepare to move to a new home and a new season) i've been thinking about this somewhat forgotten blog and the way it used to freeze the beautiful and seemingly insignificant moments of life for me. i haven't shared much in the last two years but i hope to change that around a bit in the coming weeks and months.  and what better way to start than to share some joyful moments we had while surprising and celebrating ellyn for her 20th birthday! in the mad chaos of helping our family move to florida and moving ellyn to memphis two weeks ago, her birthday got a little overlooked... but our friends were so eager to love on her and helped pull together a last minute picnic on the river this week!  thanks to my lil fraz for snapping most of these photos:)

Here's a peek at the little projects I've had opportunities to work on in the past few weeks. So excited to be creating once more!!  Two of the frames I've repainted for our room. They used to be shiny burgundy with gold trim and hung in my Grandma's kitchen for years holding photos of the grandkids. Now they are getting a second life with this fresh coat of paint!  Another Chalkboard globe-- now I have one for our room!  I found this dress at Goodwill months ago and even though it was too big for me I loved the color so much that I bought it to refashion! But then it sat in my closet forever waiting for me to finish up with school and move on with life;) Two weeks ago I finally pulled it from my closet and started hand-ripping out all the stays and stitches. It was a pretty simple refashion-- detach the bodice from the skirt, hem the waist, and take in the waist to size. I love the result and can't wait to do more refashions!!  I kept seeing those upcycled t-shir...

   This was one of the first ideas that got me rolling on gifts this Christmas. Not only is it unique, versatile & perfect for guys or girls-- it's very easy and inexpensive to pull together. {The hardest part for me was finding a globe!} To start with, you need chalkboard paint! Now you *can* buy it in the store or -for a fraction of the cost- follow this simple ratio and make your own --in any color you wish! Ratio: 2 Tablespoons of Tile Grout per 8 oz. of paint My observations: One tub of grout goes a really looong way- especially on smaller projects- and allows you to use various colors instead of just one.  Mixing in a disposable glass jar is preferable to mixing in a plastic tub.  Mix your paint in small amounts because whatever you don't use in the space of a few hours gets really gummy and you have to throw it out. For smaller projects, you can pick up 2 oz bottles of acrylic paint at your craft store (which is much less expensive per project than bu...