Bargains galore!

It's time, once again, for the fabulous $5 Fifth Monday Sale, with Etsy Texas Crafters! Just search ETC5 on Etsy, and you'll find over 800 (!!!) handmade items and supplies for just $5. . . perfect timing for Christmas shopping and stocking stuffers!

Here are a few items that caught my eye:

Baby leg warmers! Now THAT'S a steal!

A cute wallet -- I have one of these, and it's wonderful.

Neat vintage pin. . . would love this in my stocking!

Lovely Christmas tags -- I also use these, and this seller is so lovely to work with.

And of course, a few items are just $5 in my shop, as well. . .

Happy bargain hunting!

Two rooms completely unpacked. . .

And I only have two tiny peeks for you, since my camera batteries died. . . sorry! But I'll take more photos later.

Now, the living room --

I LOVE the huge window. It looks out into our front yard, and on into the pasture. The walls really need help in here -- they are institution-grey, with a sad, drab olive trim. Any color suggestions? The french doors lead on into the classroom (painted an even darker, uglier grey), but the doors themselves are so pretty, and so antique.

I feel VERY accomplished about unpacking this next room -- the kitchen! It usually takes me weeks to unpack this room. But all I got to photograph was this silly antique cabbage-shredder-thingy before my camera died. Perfect for hanging some of my aprons on it. . . .

Oh, don't you love the mulberry purple walls? I DON'T. I absolutely hate purple -- the one color I detest! But somehow, my sweet husband has decided that he wants to decorate / manage the kitchen, and has decided to keep the purple. I am rolling my eyes right now.

The children's bedrooms were all unpacked immediately, so really, there is more progress than just two rooms. The dining room, classroom, and linen closets are all almost completely unpacked, and I'll finish those tomorrow, and then I'll finish up our room. I wonder why I always leave my room for last?

I hope you all have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving, and a lovely weekend! I'll be back this weekend with (hopefully) a few more photos. God bless!

A Christmas ornament tutorial

This is too cute not to share. . . .

I think we'll be making a few of these. Imagine how cute this would be with a picture of your little ones, or with some of your little ones' original artwork! So many possibilities. . . pets, vacations, special occasions. With an adult handling the base assembly (there are sharp edges,) the kiddos should have no trouble embellishing these to their little hearts' content!

Thanks, Angie, for sharing this fabulous tutorial! (Please check out Angie's blog -- she shares a lot of really neat tutorials!)

We're still alive and kicking. . .

. . . and still unpacking and settling in to our new home!

One part of the house was built in the 1940's, and then in the early 50's was added on-to. Another section of the house was also built in the 50's, but was on a different part of the property. . . so it was later moved and attached to the first part. Interesting, to say the least! There have been a lot of updates, and there's a lot of character. But don't get me wrong -- there are so many opportunities here for creativity, painting, decorating, updating -- it is quite overwhelming, if I think about it too much. I'm just going to try to unpack all the boxes first, and then take the next step. Whatever that may be. . . .

More pictures later. There's so much to tell you! Take care, and I hope you enjoy your weekend!

A few hours left. . .

. . . for packing and moving!

It's really happening, folks! And I couldn't be more excited / scared / elated / relieved / terrified. You see, this is our first home purchase. . . we've rented all these years, because we moved around a bit with my sweet husband's job. But now we're ready to settle down, and put down real roots. And that feels wonderful.

More pics to come, I promise.

And a few hours left. . . .

There are a few hours left in the ETC First Monday Sale to snag some early Christmas gifts at bargain prices! Support cottage industry and buy handmade. . . Etsy makes it so easy.