Bathroom: Roman Shade Project!

It all started with the Puffin picture. I found this picture of

Puffins at a yard sale for $1. 

I love Puffins! In case you didn’t know.

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After finding the Puffin picture I decided to do a Nautical theme in the bathroom. I love the ocean, sea ports, lighthouses, etc. So I have slowly added a few items to make the effect I want.

At the fabric store I found this print with sailboats and lighthouses on it. I thought, how perfect for a roman shade in the bathroom. I checked the price. I didn’t want to spend much, mostly because it wasn’t necessary, I just thought it was such a fun print and it would look great in the bathroom. It was $8.99/yard. I thought I really only needed about a half yard to do what I wanted to do, so I decided I’d do it! I got up to the cut counter and after she cut a half yard she let me know it was 30% off.

Awesome!

I’m thinking, I hope this is enough to cover the window now that I have it cut. 

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The bathroom window is tiny. When I got home, I put the fabric up against the window. It was barely tall enough at a half yard to cover the window. The width was of the fabric was 45″ and I cut some off it to fit the width.

No measuring, I just eyeballed it.

Because it was barely tall enough, I knew I wouldn’t have enough to do a roman shade the way I usually do it. Usually I make folds at equal distances and sew a casing in the fabric I’m using for the dowel to fit through. This would be on the front side of the shade. Since I was short on fabric, I just used some bias tape I had left over from my project for my new grandbaby’s cradle. I sewed it to the back at the same location where the folds I pressed would have been casings on the front. The next step is to attach (I hot glued it) the fabric to a piece of wood at the top. I used a yard stick. It was about a dollar at Wally World. After that you hand stitch rings vertically for the string to thread through. On the yard stick I used screw eyes and then I threaded the string through. Don’t forget to put small dowels through the casings to make the folds stiff.

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I forgot to mention that I just serged the edges and stitched a nice hem around the whole thing. You want to thread the string up through each set of rings and across the top so they end up on one side of the shade. That ends up being your pull string. I just knot all three of the strings I used together and there you have it. 

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In order to get it attached to the wall my darlin helped me pre-drill holes for the screws. We attached it with grabber screws right above the bathroom window. 

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And here is the finished roman shade. I love it! I turned out great, and I think I only spent $10 on the whole thing. It was just what the bathroom needed to finish out the nautical theme. 

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It was a fun inexpensive project! Love those!

Sunday Best!

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“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:

for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth…”

Romans 1:16

The most important thing in my life is my relationship with God.

Everything else is made better because of that relationship.

I believe in God our Eternal Father. He is a loving Father who blesses my life always. Sometimes the blessings I receive, I am not thankful for at first. When I realize the blessing is not going to be fun, but a learning experience, I try extra hard to live in a way that Heavenly Father will help me through it. How does He help me through it? Sometimes an undeniable miracle takes place and I believe He had a hand in helping me. Sometimes, He sends the Comforter, the Holy Ghost to help me feel peace and a feeling that it will all be ok in the end. Sometimes, I get a prompting to try something I haven’t thought of, and that is the answer to making it through the blessing. I know that Father in Heaven wants me to have success and happiness in my life. I trust Him.

I believe in His Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He came to earth and atoned for the sins of all, including me. We would all be lost without Him. Because of Him we can repent, and be better. How many times will He forgive us? As many times as needed. He paid for all of our sins. He understands our struggles, because he felt them. I am amazed that He could do it. He felt all our pain, sins, sadness, sorrows. I feel sometimes I can’t handle my own, let alone what others are experiencing. He is our example. He was baptized. He led a perfect life, and was obedient to our Father. He wants us to be obedient to our Father too. I know that my Savior wants me to have success and happiness in my life. I believe Him.

I believe in the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost. He is my true eternal friend. He comforts me when I’m sad. He teaches me things I need to learn about life. He brings things to my remembrance, like: that I am important- just like everyone, we are all children of God, that I have a purpose in life, and that I can do what I came to earth to do. I am never alone, and neither are you! I feel Him.

I am so grateful I have a relationship with Heavenly Father, my Brother Jesus and the Holy Ghost. If I struggle, without hope, it is because I am not putting God first in my life. I know that having a life centered on God will bless you too.

Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy

Getting Ready for the New Baby!

We have a new grandbaby coming next month. I am so excited to meet him. 

Since our other grandson is still in his crib. We didn’t want him to feel like he was being kicked out of the crib, so I have been fixing up the cradle for the new little one. IMG_7730

I had a little extra fabric left over from sewing the crib stuff, so I was able to use it for this project. I love sewing for my grandbabies!

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I hope he sleeps cozy in this sweet little cradle knowing that he is loved by so many. Come quick sweet baby, not too quick, though!

My First Memory! (I think)

I was born the 4th child in our family, after 3 older brothers. I think all of us were born in about 5 years. My mom was very overwhelmed to say the least. She was a wonderful mom to us.

We lived in a cute little house my dad helped to build. I loved that house.

The first memory I have is standing and twirling in a circle in the kitchen of that house. Spinning, and spinning, until I was dizzy. Then I would fall to the floor and just lay there watching the ceiling spin in circles. Then I would get up and do it again.

I think I was about 3 years old.

I watched Emily spin our grandson around on my office chair. The look on his face must have been something like the look on my face all those years ago. The look of pure enjoyment and playfulness.

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Natasha having fun twirling!!!

What a fun memory! 

Bear Lake-Pool Time!

We have enjoyed many years at Bear Lake. It is one of the fun and usual family activities we do each summer. We spend a few days, sometimes a week at the trailer that my in-laws own. It has a beautiful view of the lake and enough room for our family. We have had so many fun times swimming at the lake and pool, along with evenings playing games or watching movies together. It’s important to get a Raspberry shake or two during the stay. You can’t stay at Bear Lake without learning that they are famous for Raspberries.

A fun activity is to go for a ride around the lake, I prefer in the car. It is around 50 miles. A few times my sweetie has ridden bicycles around with a few of the kids. He did it Kelsey our Dream Come True. It was quite a feat! He also did it with Alex for a merit badge in scouts one year-with Alex’s friend Colter, and Grandpa Pearce, my father-in-law.

Pearce’s Mama, Ruth is from Montpelier, Idaho, just north of Bear Lake. It’s fun to go to the cemetery and find relatives. The Bear Lake Valley is so beautiful and fun to visit. The lake is usually cold to swim in, the kids call it Burrrrr Lake sometimes, cause it freezes you when you get in. It’s still fun once you get used to it. So beautiful.

 

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I had the hardest time getting this little guy to look at me, or smile. 

He’s still super cute though!

Bear Lake-Fun at the Lake!

The beautiful Bear Lake, Utah!

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Look at that face!

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Emily and Anthony on the paddle board.

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This is one of my favorite pictures! I thought Anthony had a man bun, but it was actually his hat on backwards. We laughed and laughed so hard.

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My darlin with Tayzie on the tube!

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Anthony the tube dude!

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My darlin made me this awesome cooler!

We filled the styrofoam cooler with ice then turned on the fan. The PVC elbows sent the cool air which ever direction we pointed them. 

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We had a blast at the lake!

Sunday Best- Pioneer Day!

Today is Pioneer Day in Utah.

It is a holiday that we commemorate the Mormon Pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley.

The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been through a lot by then. They were known as the Mormons, and had been persecuted for years by people who didn’t understand them. They had been kicked out of different cities, by the people who lived there, told they were not wanted. Finally after the prophet was killed, along with his brother, the saints decided to head west. They wanted to find a place where they could live their beliefs, raise their families, and follow God. It is amazing to me that they were so persecuted in this country that was founded on religious freedom. The pioneers were very stalwart, hearty people, driven by a love of God to move forward and get to the place where they could be themselves. Many died on the way. Many miracles happened on the way. They traveled for 2-4 months, miles and miles. It was a very difficult journey. The period of time that someone crossing the plains would be considered a pioneer was 1847-1869. Once the railroad was complete they didn’t come by wagon anymore. I remember years ago when we took our kids on a trip to the Martin and Willie Handcart Sites in Wyoming. We were traveling in our family van about 60 MPH, and the kids where complaining about how long it was taking to get where we were going. I said, “We’re going 60 MPH, the pioneers went 10-15 miles per day!” They would say, “Wow!” I’m sure they had no clue. It is mind boggling to think about in this age of instant everything.

I am so grateful to my ancestors who came across the plains.

One gal I think of a lot is Mary Malden Peek.

She was my third great grandmother on my maternal side. She crossed the plains walking the whole time, except one afternoon when she was ill. What a trooper!

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This awesome picture is of Mary’s family. She married Richard Dye.

Look how handsome and beautiful they are. I wonder if the children really understood what their parents did? How much they sacrificed to make a better life for them? I love them.

Here is a little clip that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir did about the pioneers.

Enjoy! Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy

Visiting Puffin’s? It’s a Happy Place!

There are some things in life that just fill my heart with happiness! One of those things are

Puffin’s!

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All of God’s creations are amazing. I always try to make a habit of noticing and truly appreciating the beauty and wonder around me.

On my list of favorites is this cute sea bird called a Puffin. 

The Puffin is a small, black and white bird, with a colorful beak. It’s beak is not always colorful, but during the breeding season it is colorful. They can dive deep to fish for food, or fly for long periods of time. When they rest on the open sea, they can sit on the ocean and ride the waves. These cute little birds mate for life, but separate during the winter months coming back to the same place during breeding season. The female only lays one egg and she and her mate take turns sitting on the egg and feeding the Puffling once it is hatched. Yes, the young Puffin is called a Puffling! I could watch them for hours.

That brings up the reason for the post, I found a bird cam that is on Seal Island in Maine, Puffin’s breed there and Audubon has a camera so I can watch them as long as I want. Here’s the link for you!

It is called the Puffin loafing ledge.

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The Puffin’s are truly an example of living a good life.

First: The never forget where home is. Second: They mate for life. They separate for a time and return to each other. Third: They work hard for their food and to feed the family. Forth: They know how to soar and they know how to dive. Sometimes life gives you ups and sometimes life gives downs. Fifth: When they need a break, the take it easy and float on the waves. You could say they “go with the flow”.

Maybe we can all learn to be more like Puffin’s!