Link Love No.56

It has been great weather where I live lately (finally!); I have been working on the yard, playing with the kids and thinking of ways to spend fun time with my family. There are a few things I have in mind, but I will write about it some other time...

Are you ready for this week’s link love?

Kenda from Kenda's Crafts saw this idea of making an "I spy" book at Delia Createsand she decided to give it a try. One of my sons was big time into I spy books when he was small; I wish I knew about this! It turned out so nicely!


I will reveal one of the things you don't know about me... I LOVE LOVE the rolls from Texas Road House. I am not a big meat eater, but I can go to that restaurant to just eat the rolls. I don't know what's in them, but they are so good! I feel like I can eat 20 or 30 of them if I don't have to think about the consequences later... mmm. Chef in Trainingshares a recipe for rolls & sweet butter. She said it is very close to the one from the Texas Road House. I so want to give it a try!


Look at these adorable Hedgehogs! See Kate Sewshared these cute stuffed creatures. I think they are perfect for either a boy or a girl, I mean they are stylish enough for grown-ups too!


I love this yo-yo pillow shared by Little Projects in Style. I have seen many yo-yo projects before, but this one is a bit different from others. Mainly, her yo-yos are white, but contain a tint of color. I think that makes this pillow interesting. So pretty!


Oh how I love this day bed redo! Cedar Hill Ranch did such a terrific job on this makeover, I just love how everything looks. Feed sacks (by the way does anybody know where I can buy some feed sacks?) and linen gives a casual and relaxed look but at the same time, it is very romantic.


Thank you all for participating in another fun link party!

Tutorial ~ Eclectic Necklace ~

One of the jewelry projects I did recently is this necklace. I always wanted to try to make one with many different items and elements. I thought that it is a little more challenging to mix and match and I might be able to come up with something unique.

To make this necklace, I used wood, metal, and leather. I also mixed vintage items with new findings. Go ahead, go fish around the house... you might find some fun and unique items to make a one of a kind necklace!

{You will need}

35" thin leather cord
22 (1/2") Wood beads
Large main piece (in my case, it is a vintage earring)
2 Medium to large side pieces (I used a couple metal findings that I found at the scrapbook section)
A few more small findings (you can use anything...findings for scrapbooks, buttons etc.)
Fabric
Glue ( I used E 6000 clear type)

{How to}

1. Tie a knot at 9" from the tip of the leather cord.


2. Slide a bead on and tie a knot. Repeat this process with 9 beads. I left a space about 4" for the center pieces, and tied the knot for the other side. If your center piece and findings are something you need to put through the cord, you need to do so at this step before you start adding more wood beads.


3. Put clip on earrings in the middle of the opening. Glue it, and wait until it is all dry and stable.



4. Add flowers on the sides. I cut out a few circles from linen, put glue on and used them as "tape" to bond the flowers to the cord. Wait for the glue to get hard for each flower.



5. Add smaller findings to fill out the spaces between the bigger pieces. Use the same method to glue them on.


6. Done!


I wore it with white clothes, but the necklace goes well with other things too.

The West End...

... of our house. 

This is what it looked like when we bought it, before the wraparound porch, the dormer, the new windows and doors, and a fresh coat of paint.

Here's hubby shortly after those renovations were complete. If you look closely, you can see the pressure treated posts supporting the porch. They're most visible on the west side of the porch due to the grade of our property. 

We finally had all of the posts faced with fieldstone. We actually used paver materials for this as they were quite a bit less expensive, yet we felt they provided the aesthetic we were looking for. 

It is a small detail but to us, it made a big difference as we've strived for our renovations to look period appropriate. The pressure treated posts stuck out like a sore thumb. 

Happy June!