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our front porch and a summer wreath ♥

Raising up Rubies7 Comments

we’ve had the most beautiful weather here in upstate the past few weeks
mid 70’s and breezy … flowers everywhere. gorgeous.
it sorta almost makes up for the horrible winters we have
including this past never ending one.





i kinda skipped my spring wreath and went right into making one for summer
to make your own you’ll need just a few things…
a styrofoam wreath, some fabric cut or ripped into long 1-2 inch wide strips, 
hot glue and some pretty paper


i followed LollyJane’s tutorial here for the paper pinwheels
wrapped the foam wreath with the fabric, secured with hot glue and added the pinwheels
that’s it!
oh and a few cute buttons 🙂




found these colored mason jar planters at the Christmas tree shoppe
and spruced up the front porch a little bit




Memorial day weekend is usually when the danger of frost here has officially passed
so i was happy to add some color to the front of our home



the wicker rocker was a curb side rescue a few summers ago
it’s been a lot of different colors … last year it got a coat of mint green
i like it still.
thinkin maybe coral next? or maybe white. i love white.



a few coats of spray paint to some old flower pots i found in the garage
were all these pretty plants needed


who doesn’t love daisies?
they’re the cutest.





the sign used to be an old mirror
i sprayed the mirror with chalkboard spray paint from joanns
then taped & covered the chalkboard part and sprayed the frame 












it’s gonna be a beautiful weekend here … what are you guys up to??
crafting? yard work? hot dogs & smores??



yes please. all of the above.
♥ much love

linking up here ♥


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AmyJ comes to NY … and a free printable ♥

Raising up Rubies3 Comments

she’s here! AmyJ!
my best bloggy buddy is here … really here in New York
like at my house. like in my craft room.
not that i’m excited or anything



we’re shopping, eating, shopping …..and eating.
oh and talking. lots of talking … and laughing!
aaaaand she’s been teaching me a little bit of her design magic.

{download here}
we had fun making this free printable just for you 🙂
it’s a combination of my journal doodling & Amy’s pattern making
isn’t it pretty?!


tomorrow we’ll hit a bunch of thrift stores and maybe some garage sales in between
so exciting!
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a little more progress ♥

Raising up Rubies3 Comments

our home is always a work in progress for me.
discovering what our style/function is as a family is a constant learning process.
and trying to combine the two together is something i’m always learning

so while stepping back these past few months 
i’ve focused on finishing up our family room and i will share a full room tour soon
as well as some of the project how-to’s i tackled.

i found this coffee table at a thrift store for $7!
gave it a few coats of white spray paint and a little distressing
finished off the top with chalkboard paint
my girls love it so much … a big jar of rainbow chalk lives on the table top now.
forever.

gallery walls are hard!
too much? too little?
i kept moving things around but finally settled on this arrangement.



spray paint weather has officially arrived
save all your glass jars girls!
and turn them into something beautiful



these jars were headed straight for this old Coke bottle caddy that i picked up at whatever craft weekend last year … filled with pens & pencils and other fun colorful things

i also took some time to do some clean-up in my craft room
it’s been quiet in there for the past few months




and at the same time the window treatments in there finally broke after being on the edge for a year. so after some time at my sewing machine & a few vintage sheets later 
… new curtains!
still need a few adjustments & hemming but i’ll get to that.

what are you guys up to lately?
has the farwell of the never ending winter got you started on new projects?
spring cleaning? do tell 🙂
much love ♥

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insta-monday ♥

Raising up Rubies24 Comments
oh hey. it’s me
the never ending winter of 2014 sorta got to me.
it really took it’s toll on me
and i think my blog fell asleep

so now it’s spring
it’s warm
well.. warmer
this is upstate after all
 i’m feeling the need to get back into the swing of things…
open up my shop maybe
looking for new direction
just pondering all these things

so here’s a little bit of my insta
that is still a happy place for me
you can find me there
i’m @raisinguprubies


while on haitus i’ve been working on our family room … it’s coming along very happily
i hope it’s a room we all love to live, laugh, play and just be in


covered my existing pillows with rag rugs from walmart
super cheap
super easy
super awesome looking


globes are awesome
whoever started the trend is awesome


and then there’s this guy
well the picture kinda speaks for itself
yeah
he’s mine
i love him
the shirt is from walk in love
he tried it on and i got to snap a few shots
go see … they have tons of cool faith based stuff

change is good
black hair is good
so i changed my hair and dyed it black
i don’t think i’ll ever go back to brown
well maybe someday
but not anytime soon


sooooo these lamps?
$5 last summer at a garage sale
a little spray paint, fabric and look!
so neat … love simple projects that hardly cost much
so gratifying
i hope to post about the family room soon with lotsa pictures


sometimes cake for breakfast is all you need
in your craft room is even better


realizing lately that prayer is powerful
not that i never knew that
but lately
its huge for me. i’ve prayed for years … for some things
i think i just started to go through the motions thinking that God had something for me
other than what i was praying for … i was struggling 
so much. but His promises are true. so so true
and i’m thinking He just wanted … wants to take me deeper
deeper than my feet could. would ever wander on their own



did some cleaning in my studio
but it’s a mess again … but it’s a bright happy colorful mess
the best kind.




 was so honored to be featured on GoodHousekeeping.com


these girls.
i just love them.
so much


my friend Becky over at Clean Mama just released her new book 
full of organic, do it yourself cleaning product recipes
perfect timing … spring cleaning 



See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands … isaiah forty nine. sixteen.
i wear this almost everday … from my sweet friend’s etsy shop here


lots of new supplies have been coming in over the past few months
i have lots of new ideas … just need to be inspired, motivated … excited 🙂





how is your spring season going so far?
cleaning? organizing? just enjoying the sunshine maybe …
tell me. i’d love to hear
much love ♥
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pompom fairy garland … ♥

Raising up Rubies24 Comments

Last week my littlest little was home sick, so we pulled an all day movie marathon …
a Tinkerbell movie marathon that is.  So after watching Frozen (a million-gazillion times) and seeing the previews for the new Tinkerbell movie, we decided to craft up some cute fairies to hang in her room in anticipation of it’s release in a few weeks.
To make this garland, you’ll need just a few things …

cute yarn for pom poms – wooden peg dolls – felt – craft paint
hot glue – twine, jute or ribbon

So let’s start! First get all your pieces for this craft prepared.
Paint the dolls, make lots of pom poms and cut out the wings.
My hubby used a chop saw to shorten the dolls a bit, but you can use them as is.
Just use some craft paint to paint the bodies & the hair … 
I decided to make her look Tinkerbell-ish, 
but you could use any color paint for the hair or even some yarn.

To make the pom poms i have this handy dandy tool,  that can be found at any craft store.
To see a full tutorial on how to use the pom pom maker click over to this post.
Another way to make pom poms without the tool can be found here.

Next draw some wings onto cardstock, then trace them on the felt and cut.

Then I cut a small piece of twine, and hot glued it between the wings and the peg doll.

That’s it! 
Now grab a yummy snack, put on a movie and make a bunch more!
so. much. fun.

To string them up, cut a long piece of twine 
and pull it through the loops on the back of the fairies and space them out a bit.

I had one happy little girl on my hands … 
we love the way this turned out! Experiment with colors or even different fabrics for the wings 
… and pom poms are so simple to make even little hands can help.



Even Tinkerbell liked it.
I think.


The all-New Tinker Bell Movie, The Pirate Fairy releases April 1st
you can Own It On Blu-ray™ and Digital HD or watch the trailer & pre-order it here 

can’t wait to watch it!
happy crafting!
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an easy way to meal plan for one year with free printables ♥

Raising up Rubies28 Comments



it sounds crazy i know.
but it’s not! trust me!
i’ve been working on this project probably for at least a year.
oh not because it took that long to finish … just because i’m a slacker.
along with the fact that i was going back & forth between making my own printables for this whole system, and what i was coming up with just wasn’t to my liking.
so i mentioned last week that i teamed up with my bestie AmyJ. for this project
SHE designed, created and cutified a whole new meal planning kit for me …
and even more exciting, we have a few free printables here today just to get you started!
so exicted.

i’m going to keep it as simple as possible and break it down into a few easy steps.
the most time consuming part might be filling out the monthly calendars but i finished mine over the course of a few evenings (watching shark tank) (i’m obsessed)
i really hope you love this whole set-up! 
let’s get started …





how will meal planning work for you? is a year too much to think about?
would you rather just tackle a week or a month at a time to start?
planning for 12 months is a little extra work, but worth it when you’re done!
and it’s really all about repeating & rotating meals you make now and leaving space to try new recipes later. either way Amy’s kit allows you to plan with the weekly calendar…
and if you decide to plan monthly, that calendar is a free print at the end of this post.






what you’ll use for supplies is up to you … but Amy’s kit makes it all so simple 
aaaaaand way cute. like way. 


a binder & page protectors are the necessities, but i also used a few other things …
stick on tabs 
(these were Martha Stewart from Staples)
a couple clipboards
(dollar bins at target)

any recipe cards or page markers 

to make finding & organizing your dinner or make ahead recipes easier
(Amy’s cute recipe cards come in her meal planning kit)

start by filling out a master meal list & a new recipes to try list.


so basically your master meal list consists of all the things you make for dinner currently
… family favorites, quick & easy meals, really anything that you cook for your family on a regular basis.  
i filled mine out in groups by meat & category … for instance:
beef, chicken, pasta, misc/quick meals


the new recipe list is just simply that 🙂
any recipe you’ve been wanting to try, those magazine clippings stuffed in a file somewhere, 
all those recipes you pinned on pinterest… yeah those.
all that … write it down on the recipes to try list.
don’t forget to source it … in case you’re like me and can’t find a certain recipe among the seventeen thousand pins you pinned to your meal board.
cookbook page numbers, magazine volume numbers … whatever 
… however you keep your stuff
if you just jot down where it came from you’ll be able to track it down faster.










if you’re planning for the year, 
print out 12 copies of the free month at a glance calendar at the end of this post
along with the shopping list & the week at a glance page (from the meal plan kit)


i put the calendars each in their own page protector along with 2 shopping lists
(i grocery shop every other week, if you shop weekly print 4 for each month)
and 4 week at a glance planning pages
(i use these to copy down what the “week in meals” looks like
and i put it up on the fridge for my family to see … i’ll get to that in a minute)


don’t forget to fill out the sticky tabs for all 12 months 
and attach them at the end of each page protector



to fill out your meals for the whole year, use your master meal list and just start with January … 
fill in most of the days of the month with the meals you currently make.
i like to make it easy by keeping certain days for certain meals, for example…


mondays – chicken
tuesday – beef
wednesday quick & easy/misc.
thursday – leftovers (yay!)
fridays – pasta


that’s why keeping the master list separated by type makes it easier to rotate the meals as you fill in the days … you can see that my calendar has a few blank spaces, i left those open for trying new recipes and don’t forget to leave space for when those new recipes become a part of the master meal list… as the months pass i’ll look back at the additions to the master meal list and slowly fill in those blanks.


make sense?


you can fill in all 12 months or just do a few at a time every so often…
 whatever works best for you.
this is the most time consuming part, but like i mentioned before 
it took me maybe a total of 1-2 hours to fill all the calendars in with dates and meals






sunday afternoon is usually the time i like to sit down and take a look at our week
cut coupons, plan meals and such … i’ll just grab a weekly meal planning sheet from behind my monthly calendar, fill in what is on the menu … and make adjustments from there based on what’s going on that week … church, practice, birthdays … whatever.
but it’s nice to have it already laid out in front of me, 
i just have to fill in blanks and do some tweaking.




plus my family really likes knowing what’s on the menu!
 i also jot down quick things for breakfast & lunch 
which helps to eliminate arguing over what they have for breakfast in the morning)


by the way a few of my favorite things about Amy’s pages are …
the encouraging verses at the bottom of each page
(cause God knows i need encouragement when it comes to dinner time)
the cutest clipart in the history of the world times infinity in every corner
aaaand a spot to write down what you should be baking during the week.
cause it’s no secret i love to bake. well really i just love cookies.
so go fill this space out right now.
bake something.
do it.



last thing to do!
fill those page protectors with all the recipes you have clipped, cut or printed on paper 
and put them in the back of the binder behind your calendars.
when it’s time to cook dinner, check your calendar and flip to the back for easy access to your recipes 
(i keep only dinner or stock up in the freezer recipes back here, 
baking and other recipes are in a separate binder)

i actually took it a step further and created a template in publisher for recipes from the web that we decide are keepers.  i hate having things printed from the internet with all the mumble jumble and random ads & images in my recipe inventory … it’s not pretty 🙂
i take a few minutes to copy & paste the text with the main image along with the source into my template and i add a space for my own notes about the recipe.
but that’s an optional step. if you’re crazy like me.
problems. yeah i know.








Amy’s kit comes with pantry & freezer inventory lists to help keep track of what’s in the back of those hard to see spaces in the kitchen … and will help avoid the dreaded missing ingredient issue just as you’re about to start dinner
i put them on clipboards and hung the pantry one on the inside of the door
the freezer list is in my basement near my big box freezer which holds bulk purchases from sam’s club or extra freezer meals if i cook a few ahead of time




i also like to keep my cookbooks on display.
they’re within reach and double as cute decor in a wire basket
right?
right.



you can tab the pages of the recipes you make most often
then just grab it off the shelf and flip through your tabs for easy access




well, i think that’s it!
information overload i know!
funny thing about all this, is that i do not enjoy cooking … at all
 baking yes … cooking, no.
but i’m very very italian so i love to eat
and those two things don’t go together so well


so having any sort of plan in place, makes me feel like being prepared and cooking dinner most of the week is something i can accomplish … happily. with no curse words.


Amy also whipped up this super cute binder cover for you!
you can slide it into the front of your blank binder or inside of a page protector
i just love this so much 




{click on the images to download the files}

{click on the images to download the files}

aren’t they so sweet?! enjoy them!
i plan to do a follow-up post about my coupon binder and how i use Amy’s planner printables
as well as a little info about that pantry inventory list and how i organize my pantry!


if you have any questions just leave them in the comments 
i’ll do my best to answer them quickly ♥
happy planning!




linking up here!

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a guest post and free printables from AmyJ ♥

Raising up Rubies8 Comments
hey all!
just taking bit of a break from all the hustle & bustle of life
between being under the weather 
(let’s not even talk about the never-ending winter 
that seems to be sticking around like i don’t know what)
and just wanting to regroup & restart, a breather is doing me some good.

but today is the best day ever.
my bloggy (and now real life!) bestie AmyJ. is guest posting here on my little blog.
which is so amazing to me since most of what you see here was designed by her hands
i’m always amazed at how God can take something as little as a blog or instagram or whatever and use it to bond us together with not just people, but kindred spirits.
 that we would have never crossed paths with in the “real” every day of life. 

i’m so blessed by it. i’m so blessed by Amy …
she is open, honest, caring, beautiful (inside & out) and loves Jesus somethin fierce.
 and i’m so excited to show you what she’s been cookin’ up the past few weeks…
when i first read this post i eeeked & squeeeaked the whole way through

grab a cup a somethin and eeek & squeeeak along with me!



Let me introduce myself to you…  I’m wife to a bearded pastor, mamma to 5, illustrator and graphic designer, and Jaime’s bestie!  See Jaime and I share a common creative wavelength… it’s kinda creepy.

So I wanted to share some party ideas and a couple free printables with you today!

Okay, I have to admit something to you… I was going to show you a garland and some little woodland critter puppets and call it a day.  BUT my hubs was like, “You should do a woodland party! And make cupcakes!”  (I think he just wanted cupcakes.)  And then it kind of exploded.  So some how I ended up doing a full out mock version of a party we are apparently going to have for real in a month for two of my girls.  oy.  But hey!  It was fun and now I don’t have to do all the work in a month!

THE DECOR… girly, vintage, woodland style!

 



THE FOOD…cupcakes and strawberry marshmallow mushrooms!




THE FAVORS… woodland critter puppets and mini notebooks!




THE CUTE (soon-to-be) BIRTHDAY GIRL! … Lucy Lou… yes, that’s a gnome hat. he, he.




THE FREE PRINTABLES! … ’cause what’s a party without something to take home?!

Okay, so I also must tell you… that these crazy cute little woodland critter graphics that you see everywhere, are IN MY ETSY STORE!  I know… awesome, right!?  That means that you can make all this stuff too! 






This is the invite I plan to use for the real party in a month… 
I made this blank version, below, for you! 
You can use it to make your own invites, signs, or even thank you notes!


* Just click on the image and save the .PNG file to your computer! 
You can use it just like a photo image… 

Then I also have some place cards for you!


**Please remember these printables are for personal use only.  May not be used for profit of any kind.  Files may not be distributed. Enjoy!


Okay… I’ve used up enough of Jaime’s blog space, y’all.  Time to say goodbye.  
But hey!  Come on over to my blog and say hi!  And don’t forget to go pick up some of your own woodland animal clip art in my store… and then get crazy creative 🙂

Blessings… 🙂

kay. don’t lie.
you eeeeeek.
i know you did! and those printables …
thank you sweet Amy!

guys the other thing is, if you haven’t been to her blog already
you need to hop over and see … it just got a super sweet makeover 
and everything is so fun to look at 
i’m like a kid in a candy shop when i’m there


that little phone. i die.
kay i’ll stop.

but really, while you’re over there, spend some time in her home … 
you’ll find so much inspiration in every little space

i love looking at her pictures
it’s easy to see we are like minded … we love our families, we love our homes
and expressing our creativity in every room ♥
i love it when friends inspire & challenge you
to try new things. to think outside the box
dont’ you?

stop by Amy’s blog and say hi for me today 🙂
and make sure you pour another cup cause you’ll be there for a bit.

so about next week!
i’m super excited to finally finish and post about this menu plan thing 
that i’ve been workin on for like 10 years 
(kay not really, but it’s been forever)
(it’s just dragging on and on)
(and it’s really not complicated so i have no idea why)

but all that to say that AmyJ. and i put our heads together to bring you a whole set of printables & a simple plan to keep meal planning easy
and more importantly super cute ♥

and she has the printables in her shop now if you want to get a head start!
they are to adorable & affordable to say no to



 … and next week we’ll have a few freebies for ya 
cause we really love & appreciate you guys. 
like a lot. 
yeah.
i’m so excited about this!
(can you tell)
see you next week!

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upcycled leg warmers ♥

Raising up Rubies17 Comments

i love making sweater hoops
i usually hit the thrift store and spend some time there picking out some fun prints
wash them out and they’re ready for a hoop!
what i’m left with though, is a pretty bowl of sweater sleeves



the knit fabric of the sweaters make for the perfect pair of leg warmers
to make a pair of your own is the easiest ever.




cut the arches off of the sleeves so they have straight tops




turn them wrong side out and fold the top edge over about 3/4 of an inch
pin in place if you need to.



run it through your sewing machine on the zigzag stitch 
covering the edges as much as possible



find some lace and buttons and embellish!


i used my machine to gather the lace before sewing it on
(set your machine to the highest tension & highest stitch length 
and sew right down the middle lengthwise. it gathers right up)
i used a straight stitch to sew the lace to the fabric once 
then went around it again 1/4 of an inch under the first line


  
try the warmers on first and put a pin where you think the buttons should go
this helps making them even and in the same place on both legs.



that’s it!
now put your feet up and grab a cookie
♥


linking up here ♥
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a winter wreath. winter break. and a little insta ♥

Raising up Rubies7 Comments
this is it
that time of year
when the cold, snow and lack of sun starts to get to me
like its gets really gloomy

this week is winter recess for my girls
so we’ve been home … just relaxing. and not relaxing.
a combination of both.

the wreath was easy to make no tutorial necessary
just make a huge boat load of pom poms 
and hot glue them to one of those floral wreath forms 
add some ribbon and hang. that’s all.

i just wanted to pop in to say hello
was thinking about all you guys
and how i’m blessed by you
blessed that you read my little blog
that you follow along here
it means a bunch of bunches to me.



i’m still working on
my crochet mood blanket project
but i really wanted to make this hat for my littlest little …





this is a rug
it’s happy
so there CAN be happiness in a rug
oh you agree? yes. thank you.



still goin strong with the diy Bisquick kick
here’s my original post but i’ve modified the recipe a few times
and i need to update that post
here are the ingredients i use now in case you want to try it 🙂

6 c.flour – 1/4 c. baking powder – 2 tbsp. sugar – 1 tsp. salt – 1 c. cold butter
add the dry ingredients in your food processor and pulse until all combined
cut cold butter into chunks and add to the processor 
pulse until butter is in small crumbs and incorporated
i store ours in a sealed glass jar in the pantry … we use it up so quickly!
my fam loves pancakes & biscuits




my peeps also love my little ponies
well 2 out of the 3 of my peeps
even though the hubs is so compliant when it comes to our pony obsession 
that i’d consider that a type of pony love. hehe


have you seen?? go look!




 valentines day is big around here
well i make it big. i love it.
it must be all the hearts or something
i dunno
maybe
not that i like hearts all that much or anything.


heart lunches, heart dishes …
yeah it’s big
made some oatmeal butterscotch cookies for the hubs.
delivered them right to work
with some starbucks on the side
nice.

we made this garland in honor of the olympics starting and it was so so so much fun! 
we learned a bunch about which flags belong to which country 
and why they look the way they do … a book from the library (or google)
and some colored paper is all you need!

are you guys lovin the olympics?
the girls love the figure skating
i love the half pipe snowboarder girls
the ones who rock the side braids




kinda like this day
when i was rockin a side braid. aaaaaand the sun was out
whoa.
weird.
the sun never shows up around here


 the other cool thing about the olympics is that they’re in Russia
and nesting dolls are Russian
and there are lotsa cute nesting doll crafts
all over Pinterest
yup.
 see how i just made the olympics crafty like that?

made these crocheted dolls a few years ago the pattern is from here

here’s a few things i still want to make in honor of the olympics
(they’re almost over? that doesn’t matter) (shush.)

nesting doll clip art from my bestie Amy J. here
perler bead pattern here
coin purses here
plushie pattern here
free coloring page here!

some days have been so so good
some days have been so raw
and hard.
this past week i was really struggling with self-worth
 believing i am worthy
worthy to be pursued
no one likes to feel un-pursued
decided the pursuing needed to start with me taking action
instead of wallowing in my unmet expectations
which i find myself so often doing.
a victim of my own miserable unmet expectations 
i set myself up.
everytime
and it sucks.
the Lord specifically spoke quietly to my heart 
(at 2am when i could not find rest or sleep at all which is so unlike me)
that He will meet all my needs & expectations
once i place those into His care & trust
i’ll no longer place that unattainable burden on my husband
but it’s so hard to do
cause he’s here. present. in front of me. the physical.
and i love him so very much
but my Savior is seen and felt by faith 
by trust
it’s the spiritual. the non-tangible part of me that i so often don’t want to tap into 
for that feeling of worthiness
but that’s the true source. it won’t come from anywhere or anyone else
why is this so hard… i struggle
but then there’s this

psalm 139.
it tells me that He made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

    and knit me together … He saw me before I was born.



    Every day of my life was recorded in His book.



Every moment was laid out


    before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me O God 
♥
wow.
that’s all.




my first ever craft show!
and it was so so fun! i have a whole bunch of pictures to show
that’ll be for a separate post soon
but that is my hottie back there behind the table 🙂 he helped me set up
manned the cash box and was so supportive of the whole day.
he’s so supportive of anything i dream up really.
and i really love him


out-grown my little pony shirts turned hoop art 🙂
thinkin of taking some custom orders for this kind of thing
just trying to figure out logistics for it … hmmm



everything’s better in a heart. even marshmallows



 my studio was all cleaned and ready for craft night. it’s never clean.
like really never.




more wife after God & cute hearts from here



so back to the wreath…
it’s super fun
and it’s winter-ish
but maybe i need to put a spring-ish wreath up now
go away winter.
we’re all set with all your snow n everything
no really. i insist
we’re good

happy weekend guys
♥
linking up here ♥