Backyard Makeover

 I want to show you our progress with our backyard from when we first bought our house, until now.  We have slaved, and slaved, and slaved over this backyard, but I think it has paid off, especially now that we will be moving to Arizona and need to sell our house.  I would never had predicted we would be moving so soon, when we moved here it was suppose to be forever, but a job usually has top priority and so that is why we are moving.  I really LOVE this area, the house, neighborhood, schools, church, family, and our old and new friends.  This is going to be a hard move for me.  But I love my husband more and I want to be where he is!

This is what our backyard looked like when we first moved in.  The hill was out of control, but I saw potential there.  The apple tree needed pruning, and there were lots of weeds and briers.

We moved into our house in October of 2010, so most of the apples had already fallen off the tree.  But we were told they are very delicious apples.

We began our makeover, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, etc.

We promised the boys we would build a play house for them, so it was one of the first things we did.  It's a nice size, 8ft x 8ft.

More digging!!!

Still digging!

Oh yes, more digging!

My friend, a wonderful gardener helped us prune our apple tree.  Now it has lots of apples growing, which also makes me sad to move because we didn't get any last year.

We start to build the retaining wall we call, "The Great Wall".

And we finally finish the wall, add some new bark and weed block.  Tah Dah!!!

The pathway along the wall has pea gravel.  Now the top half just needs some new plants and bark and it'll be more beautiful.

This was a huge landscape project that we undertook on our own.  We first got a couple bids from landscapers, who both said $8,000, which was mostly for labor.  That's a lot of money, so we did it ourselves and worked hard together as a family and did it.  I think we are all proud of what we accomplished, and we love the outcome.

Family 2012

 Finally we had family pictures taken!  It's been 4.5 years since the last time we had our family pictures done, pretty sad.  Anyways, we did it and I'm so happy we did.  My good friend Tawnya took them for us and did a great job.  I saw on Joel Dewberry's blog their family photos taken in an orchard and I loved that.  So I really wanted to do ours in one too.  We have some friends who have an apple orchard and let us take them there.  It was perfect timing because the trees were in bloom.

Watch out girls for those bad boys!



Jason and I will be celebrating our 15th anniversary in a few months.  I picked a winner! 

Spencer, 12 (almost a teenager, scary)

Tanner, 11

Logan, 8

Preston, 6



 I just love my family!  By the way, I was sad that Picnik had closed, but I found a new favorite website for editing photos at PicMonkey, infact I like it more.

Riley Blake Fabric

 

I'm excited to add Riley Blake fabrics to my shop.  There are some really fun fabric collections that are rolled up or in stacks of squares.  The above fabric is "Apple of My Eye", I just love the cheery colors and patterns in this fabric.

 Another great fabric collection, "Millie's Closet".  I love this fabric collection too and the fun color combinations.

Paris & Company is another line now in my shop, it has nice neutrals, browns, blues, and fun little ice cream cones.  Then below are two fabrics perfect for little boys.  Finally some boy fabrics!  I think we are going to see more boy friendly fabrics.  

 

The above fabric is Scoot and the fabric below is Peak Hour.  Check them out in my shop.

 



Raggedy Ann Dolls

Here is the last of the handmade Raggedy Ann Dolls that I have been making.  I've made over 20 of them since Christmas time as gifts or special orders, but it's time for me to move on to new projects.  They really are fun to make and I think they are so adorable.  My favorite part is picking out the fabric for the dresses.  You will find these seven dolls in my Etsy Shop.  These dolls make great gifts for any girl, young or old.  But you should know these dolls are for decoration, not a toy, as there are small pieces that could be a choking hazard.  They would be perfect to display on a shelf in a bedroom!

Two Fabric Shops

My fabric shops are filling up.  I now have two shops where you can find my fabric for sale, at my website Fabrically Delicious and now in my Etsy Shop.  There are some beautiful pre-cut fabrics right now.  Here are some of them:

First here is the newest fabric line by Bonnie and Camille, Vintage Modern. It has beautiful colors including red and aqua, of course.  You will find Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls, Charm Packs and Fat Quarters in Vintage Modern.

Fat Eighths bundles of California Girl by Fig Tree & Co. and Charm Packs too.  I love these happy colors. 

Fat Quarter bundles of Urban Cowgirl by Urban Chiks.  The perfect feminine cowgirl color combination.

Hello Luscious by Basic Grey, Layer Cakes and Jelly Rolls.  Any girl would love this.

Half Moon Modern Charm Packs, very colorful.

Bernenstain Bear's Bear Country Charm Packs.  What a cute childs quilt this would make.

Thanks for stopping by!



See-Through Wall Organizer

Moda Bake Shop is having a contest right now called SLICED.  You have to make something using a Moda pre-cut fabric, batting and a buckle.  This is what I came up with.

I wanted to make something that I would use myself.  I wanted it to be pretty and have a place to go in my office/craft room.  It is a See-Through Wall Organizer.  I used Fig Tree & Co. "California Girl" Charm Pack fabric, which you can find in my shop.

The pockets are clear vinyl so you can see your items you need.  I edged the pockets with bias tape.

In the middle of the organizer is a place you can put a photo or a flyer to remind you of an upcoming event.

Inside is a foam board sewn in, which helps it hold it's shape perfectly, but is light weight.  The two buckles on back let you hang it up.

Wish me luck!  Even if I don't win, I love my new organizer in my office space!  Check out the other entries too!

More Raggedy Ann Dolls

I made 3 more Raggedy Ann Dolls for someones Granddaughters for Valentine's Day. 

Here they are:

This one just had to have braids.

This one got two ponies.  She has more of a Valentine's look to her.

And this one has old fashioned Raggedy Ann hair.

I remembered to take a picture of the bloomers this time.  I love the lace on the bottom.

I have more in the making that I will share when finished.