Tuesday, April 24, 2012

goodbye...hello ♥

Things sure have slowed down here at Seven Sisters...although you might occasionally see a post from one of the sisters from time to time :) 

 ...and guess what!? Jaime's set-up shop in her new little corner of the bloggy world,
so scoot on over to Raising up Rubies ...


...to peek in and say hi! 

We are all well, thanks to our Heavenly Father who continually bestows blessing on each of our families....we are so thankful for all of you who followed along with the 7 of us for a short but sweet time, we started blogging with the idea that it would bring us closer together as friends, and it did, and gave us 263 more! Bonus!

♥love to all....sevensisters
psalm 4.7




Saturday, March 3, 2012

Saturday Morning Tradition

The public market is a great way to spend a morning. 


My husband and I love to get up early and visit the public market for fresh fruits, veggies and other special treats.  If you have a public market in your area, I would highly suggest you seek them out!  Not only are you getting a great deal on fresh items, but you are also helping support your local farmer by cutting out the middle man and giving the profits directly to them.  See for yourself!


Broccoli - 3 medium sized florets@ $2.00, Compare at $1.69/lb
Cauliflower - 1@ $2.00, Compare at $2.69 ea
Carrots - basket $1.00, Compare at $2.29
Sweet Onions - 2 large@ $1.00, Compare at $1.49/lb
Grapefruit - basket@ $3.00, Compare @ 4 for $5.00 (I got 6)
Brussel Sprouts - basket $2.00, Compare at $2.29/lb
Strawberries - 2 boxes $3.00, Compare at $2.99 ea
Cabbage - 2 X-Large@ $2.00, Compare at $.39/lb
Bananas - 1 bunch $1.50, Compare @ $.49/lb (same price)
Freschetta Bread - 5@ $2.00, I was only able to find this at my local grocery store in a frozen pizza style and it was $4.99 each!  I'd rather make my own for much less)

We spontaneously purchased the sticky buns and tart as a treat:
Cinnamon Buns - 1@ $2.00
Apple Tart - 1@ $.75

There is a ton of variety and many vendors (including vendors that sell cheese, nuts, seafood, eggs, meat and more!).  Our public market is open year round with a wide selection of items.  In the summer time we enjoy going almost every Saturday.  So check out your local public market and enjoy!

Friday, December 30, 2011

A DIY Stable for Christmas...



Hello Sisters!!! I know it's been a very very long time!!! All of my "sisters" are doing well and we all hope you have had a wonderful Christmas!!! I know my little girls did. It is so exciting to see them open all their gifts for Christmas. 
This year my little L is in LOVE with horses. Especially 'My Little Pony' horses. And I don't mean the ones they sell at the store today. A while ago I unpacked my huge containter of My Little Ponies that I had when I was growing up..you know..the REAL ones!!! She was instantly in love with them and whenever we go out she chooses a special horse to accompany her. A few months ago I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she told me a stable...for all her horses. Well, this poses a delima for me because I can sew, crochet, modpodge, etc, etc...but I can not build anything from wood! Oy! What was I to do! So this is when I asked my Dad...who can build ANYTHING...to help me. I told him that L wanted a stable for her My Little Ponies for Christmas and let it be his special gift to her. My dad designed and built it for her and it turned out absolutly beautiful! I can't even begin to express how thankful I am for my dad and all the things he does for my little girls. He's amazing! After my dad finished the project he sent me the detailed instructions with pictures of the whole process. All I know is that this was such a special gift for Leia and I know it is something that will be forever treasured by my little girl and passed on through the generations! I Love you Dad!

A few pictures of the finished project:


Her Ponies have found a new home!


(And now introducing my Dad :)
A Stable Project 


I was asked by my daughter to make a stable for my granddaughter as a Christmas gift. She loves horses and needed a place to play and store them. So I needed a design that would be easy to use and store away. I still had the plans to a barn I built in our backyard, so I used them as a starting point. So I scaled them down and drew in the additions needed to make a stable. Using all outside dimensions I laid out all of the parts onto a sheet of 1/4" thick Luan plywood. The reason for using all of the outside dimensions is to create slot and tab locations in the edges of the parts in order to have them self-fit together. This is the same thing they do for doll houses. Then I drew in all of the corresponding slots and tabs between all of the pieces and cut them out on a band saw and router, you can also use a table saw and then cut the slots and tabs using a router or hand saw. Once all of the pieces are completed, I drew in where I needed to use hinges for the stall gates. The stable was designed and built in two halves so that it will open and close in the middle. This enables full access to all of the stalls and when closed, stores all of the horses. 
After all of the parts were sanded and painted it was time to assemble all of the parts. Be careful when assembling not to glue yourself into a corner as I almost did, test fit the pieces together to insure the correct gluing sequence. Then present your finished project and watch the smiles.

Plans:

Cut out all your pieces:
Make sure they fit together and attach stable doors:
 Attach the hinges to the back of the stable so it will open up:
Once you know it all fits together, take it apart and paint it:
Re-assemble and glue together. Glue on shingles if using:
(my dad made his own shingles but doll house shingles work as well and can be
picked up at local craft stores or online)
Admire your work:
Precious Moment:
A Marvelous Mess
The Girl CreativeThe DIY Show Off
Fun Stuff Fridays

Thursday, October 27, 2011

we're still here ♥

it's been a long time....we know
sometimes life gets crazy, no?
new babies...
babies (still seems like :) starting school...
school projects...
projects for the holidays that are upon us....

we still ♥ you sisters...
we're still here...
you have put gladness in our ♥'s  ...psalm 4.7


Monday, September 26, 2011

have I mentioned how much I LOVE free patterns....


I can't believe how fast September has flown by! It seems like everything in my life falls in the month of September! It has been insane in my household this month. With L starting school, lots of birthdays, and my husband and I taking over the director portion of our K-2nd grade Awana program at church. I think I need a vacation from the month of September! But thankfully we survived!!! :) And I think I'm finally starting to get used to my little L going to kindergarten every day, even though I miss her like crazy! 

And.. I even found time to sew a dress!!! Go figure!! I love looking on pinterest for free sewing patterns there are so many out there and they are all adorable. I found the pattern for this dress HERE. I am no expert at sewing and I thought this was a very good and easy pattern to follow. 


Here are some of my other Pinterest Favorites







Come and see tons of other great ideas on Pinterest
Follow Me on Pinterest
Click HERE to follow me on Pinterest

The DIY Show Off



The Girl Creative



A Marvelous Mess



Friday, September 16, 2011

Wash Day, Ironing Day, Cleaning Day...

Happy Friday friends! Ever since the kiddos started back to school last week, I have been trying to steer myself onto the road of organization and cleaning. And let my tell you, sisters, that road isn't always smooth. I sit here and ponder...why can I not keep my house picked up and company ready? The desire is there...what is the problem? I figured out that I am very easily distracted (something shiny?? Where?) If I even sit down at this stinkin' computer in the morning, hours can easily slip away! (Pinterest anyone?) I also L.O.V.E. to read. I will sometimes bribe myself by "allowing" myself to read my book for 30 minutes if I do this, this and this first.
Anyway, I have become slightly obsessed (in a good way) with the idea of  a chore for every day. It worked generations ago...I think it went something like...Monday was wash day (because it was such hard work and you would be all rested up from Sunday), Tuesday was ironing day (because all the wash was clean, makes sense), Wednesday was sewing day (maybe you noticed all the things that need mending while you ironed?), Thursday was market day (did this take all day cause they had to walk to the market?...uphill?...both ways?), Friday was cleaning (I guess that was bound to come along eventually), Saturday was baking day (now that sounds fun!) and then Sunday was a day to rest (Amen!).
My Great Grandma had embroidered towels that showed the daily chores. They were so fun to look at when I was little. (I was probably distracted by the neat towels whilst I was supposed to be doing a chore!) I found these kitty "chore of the day" kitchen towels on Etsy...so cute!


I am still trying to iron out (haha) the best cleaning/chore schedule, but Mondays have become the day that I change all the sheets. Is it bad that I never had a set day to do this before? Does everyone change sheets once a week? Is that normal or excessive? Please advise. 
I really do love the feel of clean sheets...so nice...but changing them is for the birds! My son has bunk beds (I always wack my head) and my daughter has an extreme amount of pillows on her bed. We really aren't sure how she fits in the bed with all those pillows.


Here is my sheet changing "supervisor".  A big black kitty known as Oreo. He loves to lay on the bed as you're trying to make it, right in the way, getting all tangled up in blankets and sheets. Fabulous.




Last spring I cleaned out and organized my linen closet. No, I am not showing any before and after pictures 'cause it is my own stupid fault that there even was a "before" and it really wasn't pretty. ☺ I started using a tip from Martha Stewart about putting each folded sheet set into its pillowcase so the sets stay nicely organized and together. It seems to be working...I haven't had to search the closet for a matching pillowcase in months!



Ummm...that is Martha's linen closet, well one of them at least, not mine. Actually, that probably isn't even Martha's closet. That there, is probably a stunt closet set up to make the rest of us feel envious! And it totally worked!
So, here is the funny part of my sheet changing day...I was watching Giada make something totally yummy on the food channel while I did my bed and I got the bed all put back together...blanket, comforter, pillows. Everything was tucked and straight and looking nice, I turn to walk out of the bedroom and there is the folded top sheet laying on the floor! I never put it on, dang it! I had to rip everything off again. See, I told you...easily distracted!

Have a good week, think of me as you wash and fold those sheets!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

what to get when you don't know what to get

It's been mentioned in previous posts that here at 7Sisters we are doing our best to stay on top of the holidays this year!  I have to say that's definitely true for myself since I look like this (below) and expect the little snowflake to arrive 2-3 weeks before Christmas:


Talk about pressure! :)  But you girls know me, and I'm proud to say that I'm halfway done with my shopping already! Woohoo!

It hasn't been easy though, let me tell ya!  Shopping for someone in September can be difficult when you don't give them the gift until December and if people are anything like me...well, I've been told I'm a free spirit and it's true that I can go wherever the wind blows me... and the wind in September might not be the same in December! So while I'm crossing my fingers that my gift giving tactics are as foolproof as possible (everyone's allowed a gift flub once in a while, right? I mean, I know I've had my fair share) I thought I'd share a handy dandy list I whipped up to help me along on my gift-buying journey. 

Not ready for Christmas?  Don't worry, it's not holiday specific (though it does kinda lean towards girlier gifts), what can I say- you're at Seven Sisters, not Buncha Brothers! :)  I really tried to think of things that the gift giver would definitely use, love and enjoy. Things that you just can't have too much of...really nice colorful cloth dinner napkins are one of my secret loves as well as pretty stationary. 

The Fashionista
  1. The Trend Watcher
    •  A little black wallet or clutch
    • Warm cashmere gloves in winter or sunglasses in summer 
    • Shoes (or a gift card to their favorite shoe store)
    • Fashion magazine subscription
  2. To the beat of their own drum
    • Costume jewelry from a local boutique, etsy, or handmade
    • Handmade crocheted slippers
    • Breezy neck scarf
    • Colorful tights
    • Bright colored nailpolish
The Chef
  1. The Chocolate Lover
    • High end chocolate (duh)
    • Set of dessert plates (thrift shop!!)
    • Cupcake domes (Hobby Lobby!)
  2.  The Health Nut
The Home Decor Lover
  1. Just moved in
    • Housewarming gift bucket (small tools, nails, wood glue, etc)
    • Homemade "About the Area" book with tips and recommendations
    • Welcoming door mat
    • Plantable plant (or flowers for the apartment dweller)
    • Mrs Meyers or Method cleaning products gift basket (looove Method!)
    • Paintbrushes, rollers, and primer, oh my!
  2. Festivity lover
    • A wreath (for all those OTHER holidays)
    • Homemade heart garland for Valentines' Day
    • Handmade ornament (or search etsy)
    • Variety of sunflower seeds, wrapped in a pretty bow
    • Pumpkin carving set
    • Make your own snowman kit
    • Holiday themed tablecloth (other than Christmas)
  3. Artsy
    • Homemade abstract art/painting (or search etsy)
    • Thrift store art piece
    • Brightly colored sofa pillows
    • Hand painted birdhouse
    • Colorful/bold cloth napkins
  4. Practical
    • Pretty glass storage containers (or anything pretty for organizing)
    • Handmade blanket
    • Pretty placemat set
The Adventurer
  1. Beach lover
    • Colorful beach towel (with a favorite magazine!)
    • Name/monogram written in the sand, take a picture, frame it and give!
  2. Mountain/Nature lover
    • Cute printed rainboots
    • Bike basket (or if they already have a basket, a basket liner)
    • Picnic blanket or basket (or both!)
    • Outdoor game- think KanJam, bocce, horseshoes, etc
    • Zoo passes
    • White water rafting gift certificate
    • A really nice flashlight (in pink for your girlfriend of course)
Sentimental
  1. Your best friend
    • Letter writing kit (with all the fancy stuff!)
    • Magazine subscription
    • Pedicure or manicure date
    • Journal
    • Frame her kids' art for her!
    • Nice, colorful, WARM socks
  2. Your grandma
    • A homemade card
    • Stationary
    • Homemade baked bread, cookies, fudge, etc (you thought Grandma's liked cooking for YOU, but they like receiving too... at least in my experience :) )
    • A lunch date
    • Scan, restore, or save old photos for her
  3. Your significant other
    • WHAT HE ASKS FOR (no really...c'mon, men are simple folk).
    • A "how to pray for your wife" mini book- I've seen these on etsy, love them!
    • A love letter
    • Sporting event/concert tickets

Obviously this list isn't exhaustive, but hopefully it helps you get your creative juices flowing!  Go ahead and comment with more gift ideas too! Can always use some nifty new ones. I still have the other half of my Christmas shopping to do :) Oh, and for a lot of kid-related gift ideas, click on our "gift ideas" link on the sidebar under the "We're Organized" heading!

:)

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