Five Reasons My Faith Is Important To Me . . .

While in Utah for my Uncle's funeral, I was able to spend a few hours at the historic Temple Square. I captured a few images with my camera that I wanted to share, along with my thoughts on why they are important to me.

First is this building, and one hundred and twenty-nine others like it around the world, where we go to make sacred covenants with the Lord. It is a refuge from the storm and a place of peace. When I'm within its walls I can forget about the craziness of my life and spend time meditating and improving my spirit. In this very building I made the best decision of my life by joining myself to my sweet Hubby in marriage forever.

Next is the building that has this beautiful waterfall cascading down its front facade, where a living prophet speaks and is heard around the world, reminding me that a loving God continues to reveal his will for his children today, just as he did in Biblical times, if we will only have ears to hear and hearts to follow.

Then there's this bronze statue, which reminds me of my pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains of this country, some by covered wagon, some on foot with handcarts, to escape religious persecution and find a place where they could worship God freely, many burying their small children in shallow, cold graves along the way.

And then there is this lovely engraving on a door which represents thrift and industry, and reminds me that hard work, in cooperation with others, can yield the sweetest of results.

And last of all is this statue. I cannot stand in the same room as it without weeping. Because without Him I am nothing, with Him I can accomplish anything and to me He is everything.

Handmade Monday . . .

How To Make A Rosette In Six Easy Steps

I don't claim to be a sewer. In fact, I proudly label myself to be a "fauxer". But in my secret little soul of souls, the talent I most long for is to really know how to sew. And sing. And play an instrument. And tap dance. And watercolor. I could go on and on.

I laughed when my friend Sue left a comment asking how to make the little fabric rosette that I put on one of the headbands as if I were some kind of expert seamstress with the secrets of the sewing universe tucked away in my brain. Here, for her {and any of you who want to try it} is a quick tutorial which proves once again, that I am NOT a sewer . . . because it's just that easy!

Step 1: Find a strip of scrap fabric. Mine was 15 inches long and 3 inches wide. You can vary the length and width depending on what size flower and fullness you want.

Step 2: Iron the fabric strip in half.

Step 3: Thread a needle, doubling the thread over and tying it off at the end. Thread color doesn't matter. You won't even see it when you're done.

Step 4: Beginning at the very edge of one end of the strip, sew a wide running stitch the length of the strip.

The fabric will begin to bunch up all by itself as you do you running stitch.

Step 5: When your stitches reach the end, gather the fabric up in a flower by gently tugging on the thread.

Step 6: Cut your needle off and tie off your thread in several knots to secure the rosette.

Hot glue the two ends together, tucking the raw edge to the underside. I suppose you could sew it, but remember, I'm not a sewer, so glue away! When you're done it should look like this:

I glued a button onto this rosette to hide the raw edges.

Then I turned it over and hot glued a barrette on the back so Hannie B. would have another fun hair accessory.

See, it was too simple for an actual sewer, but just perfect for a fauxer! Let me know how your projects turn out!

The Fam . . .

Family Game Night! {this game was for ages 6 and older, so we put Ollie to bed.} I won't make you guess which team won, but I will tell you that I pretty much ROCK at Pictionary.

Quick, Easy, Cute & HUGE!

Ya know what I love? Attaching this flower almost as big as my daughter's head to a headband and watching her eyes light up in delight! This little project was super easy. Get ready . . . I'm gonna show you how!

First go to the dollar store or craft store and pick out roses in colors you like. I went for the super cheap $1.49 roses at Michaels Craft. Bring that flower on home and take the whole thing apart, removing all the plastic pieces until you have just petals, like this:

Now get out your trusty glue gun and reconstruct the flower, laying the petals to your liking and making it flatter than it was before. Then you can find embellishments, like old buttons or pins to put in the center.

Next, I made this little rosette from a strip of leftover fabric. I hot glued it to the center of my flower and then topped it with this little bird emblem I found on clearance at Michaels.

Once everything was good and dry, I glued it onto a head band I got for $1.00 at Wal-mart. Hannie B. was so excited she schemed up an outfit to wear to school today just so she could wear a head band!

Total time to make three headbands: 20 minutes

Total cost per headband: $3.50

Smile on daughters face: Priceless.

Three Word Thursday

My. Uncle's. House.

I took a few photographs at my Uncle Kirk and Aunt Julie's house while I was in Utah for his funeral. This home has been the hub of our greater extended family activity for as long as I can remember, from births and baby blessings, to missionaries leaving and new couples beginning married life together, from college kids starting school to married kids without a home, it has housed young people, old people and everyone in between. Entering this house feels like coming home to me. My Uncle's talent, touch and eye for beauty are on every surface and in every room. Being there felt like being with him. And that was a comfort to us all. Enjoy!

A Nelson family tradition - The Ancestral Wall of Fame {blog post on this coming soon}

These beautiful built-ins {by Kirk, of course} house more Nelson family stand-bys . . . books and COLLECTIONS!

Architectural prints, most likely found on Ebay and definitely hand framed by Kirk.

I like to call this puppy "The Showstopper". Every inch hand crafted by Kirk.

The man who was a hero to many of us collected other heroes medals.

This platter of beautifu coral specimens {most likely found at Estate and Garage Sales} is oozing with texture.

Every house needs a bust {is it Socrates or Plato?} for $5 from D.I. What a steal!

What matters most. Framed by Kirk.

He traveled the world and he collected the world.

An example of some of the remarkable furniture restoration and refinishing Kirk did.

And it wouldn't be a Nelson home without the classic bowl of scrabble tiles. Which looks very innocent until . . .

Until you realize how big the bowl is when seen in relation to this little nugget! That's a lot of scrabble!

Three Letters to Three Kids . . .

Dear H.B.,
How would I do this without you sweet girl? You are the ONE he adores {besides me, of course}. Thank you for being a little mommy and a big helper!

Love, Mom

Dear RedDog,
I sure hope you lose that tooth today. Because if you don't, I will personally come and yank it out of your mouth while you are sleeping. Seriously, dude, it's grossing me out.
Love, Mom

Dear Ollie,
Just a note to inform you that in addition to the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 flu shot, your entire family will be receiving the rabies vaccine as well. Your frothiness is a bit alarming.
Love, Mom

Vintage Western . . .

We knew we were having a baby. We knew the baby would have to share a room with someone. As soon as we knew the baby was a boy, we determined that RedDog would be the lucky recipient of the tiny roommate since he had the largest room and the most agreeable personality.

I knew I wanted to make some changes to the room. I knew I could only make slight changes so RedDog wouldn't feel like I'd done away with his room to make way for the baby. I knew I had a limited budget and I would have to shop the house for decor ideas. And I knew that I had enough items to go with a vintage western "theme" {term used VERY loosely here}.

There are people who go all out with Western themed bedrooms for kids. I'm talking denim and chaps and fringe and rope and cowhide {although a cowhide rug can be totally killer!} and bandannas and saddles and horseshoes and large as life stuffed horses and beds shaped like chuck wagons that only cost $14,918.00 {Yeah, I'm serious. Don't believe me? Click here.}

But that's just not how I roll. I like to play it a little more subtle than that. Lucky for me, the Hubby's got some real cowboy ancestry. It sure came in handy when the room went together!

The boots on the right belonged to my father-in-law when he was a boy. The boots on the left graced the feet of my sweetheart as he helped his "paw" and "grandpaw" and learned to work.

This old lantern was handed down to me from the Queen. While it's more than likely a flea market find than family heirloom, I like to imagine a pioneer family using it at night to light their covered wagon as they read from the Bible before going to sleep on the windswept plains {and since I'm playing pretend, maybe that bear was cut from a quilt used to cover that pioneer family}.

Every Western themed room needs a sturdy horse. This one has been a part of my family since I was a child in Germany. My kids have all tried to ride it, which is why stirrups and wheels are no longer in tact.

The base of the horse is a perfect place for RedDog's special rock collection, Ollie's new soft teddy, and a reminder for children young and old: dream!

This hat is the real deal. It belonged to Great Grandpa Lee. I love watching my kids put it on. There is something special about the way a hat this big just envelopes a little head in a cocoon of wonder and imagination.

Above Ollie's crib are photos of his grandpa and great uncle dressed up as cowboys in their early youth. These pictures are a complete riot and make me smile every time I'm changing a diaper! Ollie loves to stare up at the dark frames against the light walls.

The color palette of browns and brick red was not easy to shop for when it came to crib bedding. I settled for a mixed dot affair from Target and a very soft dotted bumper from Babies R Us. The crib was generously donated to us by my sis-in-law Audrey after I broke our crib while trying to assemble it.

Simple cornice boxes with architectural star details echo other star details around the room. Simple bedding adorns a great Ikea bed with dust ruffle made by the Queen {from a set of Ikea drapes}.

And then there's this sweet little lambie, representative of all things innocent who was a gift from a very special friend. He stands guard over the basket of delicious creams and lotions I use to make Ollie smell almost edible each day. Soon he will take his place in the arms of Ollie as a most beloved playmate and companion, because every little cowboy needs a pet.

The total cost to pull this room together was $20 - and that was for the sheet and dust ruffle on the crib. Everything else was already in my house. I did repaint a few things to go with the new color scheme, but was surprised by how much I didn't need to buy! If you're tired of a space in your house, look around and see what you're using elsewhere that just might work to spruce things up a bit!

ps. Just found out that Nie Nie is going to be on Oprah tomorrow (Wed. Oct 7th). Please tune in and support my blog hero! {That would be Nie, not Oprah . . . I could care less about Oprah}