Day 17: Places for Love 1

I have noticed that there are a lot of places that have names with the word love in them, so today I decided to take some pictures of the signs.  I started in Belmont, NC.

A Church in Belmont

When I put the next place in my GPS, it told me to go toward Love Crossing
Lane, which was right by the church! 

Next Stop: Love Home Improvements in Mount Holly!

Last Stop for Today: Love Street in Gastonia.

This was a fun little adventure.  I'm definitely doing this again.  I know there's a church in Shelby and K said there's a place near Crowder's Mountain.  I can't wait!

Day 16: Kitty Love

She is NOT thrilled!

Well, yesterday was a crazy day, but since I did two projects on Saturday, I'm declaring this day 16! (I went back and changed the numbers. I am NOT OCD!)  For my love project today, I decided to photograph our cat Savannah who is apparently not into being photographed.  You know those cute pictures people post on Facebook of their cats doing adorable things?  Well, there's a reason we never do that!

"Seriously???"

"I can't believe they're making me do this!"

C got out the treats and that perked her up a little.

"Mmmmm...  That smells good!"

"You're getting ONE trick and that's it!"

"I feel so dirty!"

"I'll gladly take the treat, but I'm not working for it!"

"Yum!"

Day 15: Love Rocks!

The Rocks I Started With

Today, I attempted to carve rocks into loving items by following the directions I found on Piinterest.  The directions were good, but carving rocks was a bit harder than I thought it would be.  I started out with three rocks my mom had polished for me in her rock tumbler.  This may have been part of the problem.  I don't think the grinding tool liked the polish.  I also found that the carving shows up better on the darker rocks.  Let me know if you try this!  I'd love to see what you come up with!

My First Attempt at a Heart

My First Attempt at Writing

I made this one for S.  It's something two of our girls said when they were little.
It's sentimental.

Day 14: He loves me!

S loves me very much!

Day 13: Pine Cone Family

This morning, C invited me for a nature walk.  She decided she wanted to make something out of natural things we could find in our neighborhood, so that's what we did!

I found pine cones of various sizes and made our family (the small one is the cat).  I tried to make hair out of pine needles with not great success, but here is my creation.

Family Love

C made a girl out of a stick, an acorn, and some pine needles.  She told me a story about how one school she went to wouldn't let them take toys out at recess so she and her friends made dolls out of sticks and hid them outside to play with! She's thinking of turning it into a fairy for a later project so you may see her again!

Day 11 & 12: Botanical Gardens and Button Art

Today, I had the pleasure of completing two love projects.  The first was on a trip to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont, NC with my friends Jessie and Joe Fass and our kids.

Jess getting smooches from B2.

The Fass Family

We ended up hiking down to a lake.  It was a great chance for some silhouettes of the kids.  Even though A is making a face in the picture, no one can tell!

A's Silhouette

C's Silhouette

J's Silhouette

C giving Mommy a Flower! She loves me!

This afternoon, C and I worked on our button art projects that we started planning yesterday.  We had some used canvases that we didn't love so I primed them with spray primer.  Then we painted them the blue of my bathroom mixed with white.  It took C a while to find a design she liked, but it turned out great!

C Gluing on her Buttons

C with her Finished Artwork

Infinite Love

My Artwork Hanging in Our Bathroom

Bonus!  Hubby made me a stand for my glue gun.  It's awesome and my glue gun doesn't tip over every time I set it down.  Plus it has a place to catch the drips!  He LOVES me!  :-)

My New Glue Gun Contraption Built for me by my AWESOME Husband!

Day 10: Beef Stew Made with Love

Our daughter Tori is coming over for dinner tonight, which we are very excited about.  I am making Mediteranean Beef Stew (Pinterest) in the slowcooker.  I am adding a little love to the mix.

I learned this cutting technique on pinterest as well.

The Stew!  I can't wait until dinner time!

Day 9: Curtains & Foil

Today, I hemmed some curtains for our living room windows.  This was to give our family some privacy without actually blocking out the light.  The curtains have daisies on them, which are my favorite flower!

After I finished making the curtains, the mail came, bringing with it the book I've been waiting for!

I decided to start with day 1, even though I'm really on Day 9.  This one asked me to make something out of my immediate environment that would fit in the palm of my hand.  I was sitting in the rocker and next to it was a wrapper from a Dove chocolate so I made this!

  

Day 8: Lumps

Skinny girl, as tall as most five-year-olds. We used to call her "chicken legs" as a baby - there

was never meat on her bones. 

She was NOT a Gerber baby even though she ate Gerber Baby Food.

Lumps like jelly beans, bouncy balls, Easter eggs on her tiny 3 1/2 year old neck and face.

How did we miss them on Halloween? Not see them for almost three weeks?

Pale skin stretched to translucency, blue and red veins in plan view

She called them her bumps - said she liked them - cried at the kitchen table, "Why did you let

the doctor cut them out?  I wanted to keep my bumps!"

They were hers after all - she had grown them by herself without help from anyone - except a

tiny germ.

No crying on the way to the operating room, even without a calming anesthesia

Her shyness paid off - she shut down on her own without need for medical intervention.

Woke up afraid, wanting the ID bracelet off - wanting to go to Grammy's house - wanting

the IV OUT!

Crying for Mommy to hold her - in and out of the sleepies, the scaries, the weepies.

It took two days before the questions came.  "Why did you let the doctor take me away?  I

didn't want to go."   "When will the boo boo go away?  I don't like it."

How can a mommy explain the incapacitating fear of cancer to a three-year-old, a baby

really?  

The fear of IT being the worst part for the mommy - the waiting for answers - the not

knowing for six weeks.

Mommy jumped up and down at Toys R Us - so happy to hear the words, "It's not cancer" on

her cell phone.

Relief triumphing over the fear of embarrassment at such a public spectacle.

Day 7: A Loving Home

Today, I did a bunch of little projects around the house.  I hope this shows love to my family because I'm trying to make a nice home for them.

I painted a brass light with the aqua cabinet paint I used on the back of the shelves S built for me in my office.  I outlined the glass shade to make daisy petals and I painted the thing that holds it on yellow.  I am going for a daisy look. 

Close-up of Ombre lamp shade that I dyed today ala the Paper Buttons blog.

Ombre shade on my desk next to my beautiful shelves built by S.

While I was dying the lamp shade, I also decided to dye a skirt that I had
accidentally turned pink in the wash.  It came out very pretty!

A robe hook that I hung in my daughter's (C) bathroom today

Curtain tie back that I made for C's bathroom curtains

I actually shortened these curtains for C's bathroom a couple of days ago, but I didn't
want to post them until I finished the tiebacks.

I had several other projects on my list that I ran out of time for.  Maybe Thursday?

Bonus: I came home from work last night and S surprised me by putting up a light for me.  I've moved this light to 3 houses now.  I love it.  It meant a lot to me that he did that on his own because he was thinking of me.  :-)

What projects have you worked on lately?  

Day 6: We Wore Our Love Next to Our Hearts

S and I dated long distance for almost a year.  When we were first together, it seemed too good to be true so I asked for a token to keep with me so I knew it was real.  We didn't discuss what we were exchanging in advance.  The next time we saw one another, S gave me his Superman necklace from the Christopher Reeve foundation.  He said it was one of his most favorite things in the world and it meant a lot to him.  I gave him a key that my dad gave me.  It wasn't my favorite key, but I liked it.  It didn't have any particular meaning to me.  My dad had given it to me because one time I had forgotten my necklace with my favorite key on it at home when I came to visit.  It was just a key had laying around.

My favorite key came from a girls' vacation to Tybee Island, near Savannah Georgia (one of my favorite cities on the planet).  I bought it in an antique shop on the River Front.  It was an old skeleton key to a diary.  I have a thing for skeleton keys and this one was cool because it was so small.  At the time I bought it, I was in an unhappy marriage; buying the key somehow felt like I was reclaiming myself.

After S told me that the Superman charm was his favorite possession, I felt guilty for not giving him my favorite key.  I realized it was a trust thing for me.  What if I gave him my favorite necklace and I never saw him again?  Essentially, what if I gave him the key to my heart and he broke my heart?

On our next visit, I confessed that it wasn't my favorite key and I gave S the real one.  Giving it away was difficult for me, but obviously it was a good risk.  S and I wore our tokens around our necks every day that we were apart.  He even took it with him to Japan after we were married.  It was our way of staying connected.

A few months ago, we talked about giving them back since we're together everyday now, but that didn't feel right.  We made promises back then to stay true and to think of each other often.  Those are promises we still keep.  Even though we don't wear them every day, we carry that connected feeling with us.

Day 5: Pin Cushion Love

Today's project is self-love, I guess.  In 7th grade Home Economics, we made a pin cushion that was supposed to go on my wrist.  I still have it.  It is ugly, and worst of all, it's made of wool, which I am allergic to.  The other day, I saw pretty pin cushions in the store and I thought, "I should get one of those."  Then, I looked at the price and realized I could make my own for free out of stuff I already have at home.  So I did!

My Pin Cushion from 7th Grade

My New Pretty Pin Cushion

C Showing that the Pins are in the Shape of a Heart!  <3

This project was super easy and only took about 15 minutes.  

1. Cut two rectangles the same size for the top and the bottom. 
2. Cut two short rectangles (about a half inch longer than the short sides of the rectangle) and about 2 inches wide.
3. Cut two long rectangles (about a half inch longer than the long sides of the rectangle) and about 2 inches wide.
4. Sew the top to each sides, right sides facing each other.  
5. Sew the bottom to each side (right sides facing each other) except on short side.
6. Clip the corners.
7. Turn ride side out.
8. Stuff with fiber fill.
9. Sew close the open side.
10. Stick in your pins.

Voila!  Pin Cushion!

Day 4: Loving Hands

Once again, S helped me with today's love project.  After a wonderful afternoon with just the two of us, we came home and took this pic together.  Love is good!