Sand Pudding and Picnic on Friday Finale

Hey everyone!!
As hard as it is to believe, it's already Friday!! And not just any Friday, but a Friday Finale! Woot! Woot!

Today was my daughter's grand finale for fifth grade! Boo Hoo! She had a wonderful fifth grade picnic with games, prizes, an obstacle course and many photo opportunities! I will share a few photos from the picnic at the end of this post.

I was in need of a quick dessert for sixty kids plus hungry parents and staff. Yikes! So, of course my sweet Cyber BFF Christina Wernstrum had just the solution...sand pudding! Oh my yum! Definitely a winner!! I found THIS RECIPE and it came out perfectly!

Look! No leftovers...and best of all I got a LOT of comments and delightful moans as the cups of sand pudding disappeared! Yay!! Score!

 

So, here's a couple of highlights from today:

Yep! That is a water balloon with a little boy just looking for a place to toss it!

I got this cute idea for an end of school year gift from HERE.

Prize patrol! Each child got a prize!

Doing the "army crawl" part of the course.

Javan managed to get ahold of one of the "big guns" to soak everyone as they went through the "car wash." Christie did an amazing job on this obstacle course.

Here is the cute t-shirt Christie and I designed for the kids. Isn't it fun? I love it!

Kadesia had her friends autograph her tshirt. What a great keepsake this will be.

And before you go, be sure to check out what is going on over at Christina's blog!! You don't want to miss this!! She is so creative!!

Hugs,

Closet Makeover: Before and After!

Hey everyone!

It's finally Friday. I am working a 12 hour day shift today and anyone that knows me knows what a challenge that will be! But I am sure it will be fine! My sister is visiting from Tennessee with her husband and son so I hope to spend a little time with them on Sunday ... Mother's Day!

Do you remember the theme for today?

I am excited because I have a guest blogger celebrating with me! She is a sweet and dear friend. You will hear me speak of Christina many times!! You can visit her blog here:

 

I love before and after photos. I just love to see the transformation something can have when a little love and attention is given. My entry way closet was a horrid mess! It became a sort of catch-all. It certainly did not function as a useful space and although a couple of coats were hung in the closet, they were rarely worn and so the closet was not serving any real purpose other than to collect junk!

I told you on Wednesday that I love Pinterest. I truly do. There are so many great closet storage ideas there and I have been truly inspired by many of the photos I have pinned. So I decided to take a little time and make a list of what I needed to get organized. I sent my husband to the store with said list but he found something far better and much cheaper so of course I was very happy! He even was sweet enough to put it together and install it for me. So without further adieu, here is the ugly before and the pretty after!

  

I know! STOP! Enough! Right? It was messy and did not function for our needs at all! So here is the new solution. Keep in mind that it's a work in progress, so it's not totally finished but it's much better than it was before!

Thanks for hanging out with Christina and me today! Hope you were inspired to finish something on your to-do list today!

Hugs,

A blanket for Grandma Junie.

Hey everyone!

Today is the first Friday in May so I am going to share with you my special project that I have finally finished. Each Friday I will have a Friday Finale project that I have finally finished and am ready to share with all of you! Like my sparkly banner? It reminds me of fireworks and many of you know how much I love the fireworks!

Today I am finishing up my finals for the semester at the university. I am ready for classes and tests to be over with. I am taking the summer off to enjoy my family and friends and all of my hobbies. A new hobby for me is sewing. I am just getting in to sewing after many years away from a sewing machine. Today's project involves sewing and please remember before you comment that I am a beginner and I did my best on my first ever lap-quilt.

 

I had no idea where to begin but I knew I wanted to make my husband's grandma a memorial blanket. She has Alzheimer's but she still knows everyone when they visit. I thought it would be a conversation starter with the staff and those who live with her. Plus, as her family visit, they could find their names and talk to her about the quilt which is centered around her and her late husband. Paul's aunt Mona took the white squares I had written on and traced the letters with needle and thread. Paul helped me cut the scalloped squares out using my Big Shot and a retiring Big Shot die, the scalloped square, which makes cutting things out a breeze! I am sad the die is retiring but I will still use it a LOT. I bought the designer fabric from Stampin' Up! but the brown background was purchased at Walmart. I wanted to use some bright reds with fabric that coordinates to the brown in this blanket but time got away from me so my mom helped me finish it off.

 

I am sorry the photo is rotated to the side sometimes. I loaded them up the right way but my laptop doesn't always cooperate with me.

 This rectangle has a favorite quote of mine, "All because two people fell in love."

 These are the "two people" who "fell in love" and started the family I married into. My mother-in-law told me the date and I thought it would be special to put it on the quilt.

This square belongs to Michael and his family. He is the son of Aunt Mona, who helped me with the needlework. He lives with his sweet wife and their adorable little girls several states away so having them on the quilt is like having them with her when she reads their names and thinks of them.

 This square is for her only son and his wife.

 Of course this square is Grandma Junie's daughter that I mentioned above and her husband.

 Maggie is Paul's cousin.

 Mitch is Maggie's brother. He also moved away, She used to say how much she missed him when we would bring up stories of things he did when he was younger.

 These are my in-law's. Leann is June's daughter.

 This is Mona's daughter and her lovely family's square.

 This is another brother to Maggie along with his wife and son.

Of course we have a square for my sweet husband and our little family. And that's it! We took it to her and tried to show it to her but she was not having a good day and was not able to see it well. She has seen it now and likes it. I am glad it is finally finished and she can enjoy it.

 

Now that my college courses are going to be over, my to-do list can finally stop growing! I am eager to show you a few more projects I have completed throughout this month's Friday Finale. What projects are you finishing up? Don't miss my Saturday Share tomorrow!

 

Hugs,