The Mint Needle

Guess who's the lucky recipient of Burdastyle's summer issue - Europe? Me! I was ecstatic when our friends came back from their trip to Greece saying they found something that I'd really like. Filled with complete patterns, I've been busy with this great magazine. Unlike our U.S. version, the magazine had many more 'dress' patterns. Two of my favorites are below! Obviously, there will be an instruction barrier that I'll have to figure out. But I have to admit, the drawings are pretty good and since I've pieced together some dresses, this definitely seems do-able! So excited to get started:) How cute is this mommy & me matching dress? Adorable! On another note.... A trip to our barn to find paint stripper for this piece of furniture turned into something else. For the curious, I'm thinking a turquoise for this baby! In a cabinet that holds old paint cans and some art supplies from my college days, I found a litt...

Hello friends! I'm so excited about today's post! You're all wondering where I've been? Well, once you see the photos, you'll know I've been pre-occupied! Far from the norm, I usually don't post pictures of our home, however, the sewing room has received a major transformation and I couldn't be more than thrilled with the results. Take a look! My previous room, (not pictured for many reasons), was crammed & over cluttered with fabrics, boxes, & miscellaneous items. I suspect it was so over cluttered that it was one of the main reasons I just didn't have the desire to stitch up too many new projects for the shop. You'd walk in and immediately lose your train of thought due to the bright colors that were in your face, coming from every direction. Cream carpeting was soft on your feet, but didn't serve me well when I needed a large 'flat' surface to cut on. Use a tiered fruit basket for thread storage. Keeps i...

Every morning, I grab a cup of tea and head outside to our front yard garden and look at the plants while Charlie, (our really big pup), sniffs about. And lately, I have noticed we have quite a few hummingbirds in the area.  I know that this post is neither about gardening, crafting, or stitching, but I couldn't help but share these amazing little images with all of you! These pics were taken over the course of two days and the best part was catching them on film for the girls. Because... you never know when you might see a fairy riding on the back! This was the oddest shot by far. Weighing less than a penny, they look like they fly sideways. In that area of hosta's, I also planted phlox, echinacea, & hollyhock shown at the top of this post. I think they really love the flowers!  My favorite picture! Happy trails till next time friends! Here's to hoping summer does not fly as fast these birds!

I'm telling you... finding elderberry bushes in the woods was so exciting for me. Why? Well, maybe it's because we love & live taking Sambucol which is an elderberry supplement. Yup, I've been giving this yummy addition to the family for as long as I could remember. (We do take breaks however, so that the our bodies do not develop a tolerance to the vitamins.) So... adding something like this homemade simple syrup, once in awhile, to our teas or warm milk in place of honey is something pretty special. Not to mention - it serves great for mixed cocktails as well... wink, wink.    This is an old little something ~ my mother said ~ they used to do in Serbia.  Collect the elderberry flower heads and place them in a pot. (I did not rinse my flower heads either.) Fill the pot with bottled water, just enough to submerge the flowers. Cover with a lid and let it sit for 24 hours. The next day, you should a slight tinge of yellow water. Take it to the stove and bring...