Chrissie Grace Designs

I moved...

to a new blog that is.

Please visit me at:

www.chrissiegrace.blogspot.com

Don't forget to change it in your addresses!:)

Remember me?

 

Hi!  Remember me?

It's been a long time...I took an unexpected blog break.  We had such a nice holiday season.  I tried really hard to "stay in the moment" as much as possible.  These kids of mine are growing way too fast!  So I got off the computer, stopped painting, and just enjoyed the holidays.

Now everyone is back to school and I am in my typical New Year mode.  I love resolutions.  I love goals.  I am a fanatic list-maker, dreamer, and schemer.  I made three New Years resolutions:

1.  Get out of debt completely.  That means by this time next year I would like our family to be debt-free (with the exception of our home.)

2.  Drink a lot more water and start cutting back on sugar (I am seriously addicted to sugar!)

3.  I am at 50 sales in my Etsy shop.  My goal is to have 1000 items sold this year.  I know that sounds pretty extreme, but I am working towards that.  I have a lot of new ideas that I will be implementing.

How about you?  Any new goals for 2009?

I'll be back tomorrow with some of my favorite art around the house...mostly done by fellow bloggers and etsy artists, a lot of it new!

Yum Yum

Amidst sinus infections, ruptured eardrums, and a bout of throwing up, we managed to have a baking day!  Don't worry, we were very careful not to get any germs in the cookies!:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, magic cookie bars, cupcakes, muddy buddies, and sugar cookies with sprinkles.  Logan wrote out all the cards, and then we delivered them to our neighbors.  Of course we made a plate for our family too and shared it during Advent that night.  I was so happy to see the kids get excited about delivering the cookies...

We are taking things a little slow around here while everyone recovers.  I love looking at everyone's Christmas decorations!

A Give-away AND a sale

Crystal from A Little Bit  Funky has one of my favorite blogs.  She is full of creative juices and runs a great business in her etsy shop.  Because she provides me with so much inspiration, I wanted to do a give-away over at her blog.  Head over there right now to enter!!

Also, everything in my etsy shops are on sale, 25% off for the rest of the month.  Please take time to look at the sold items, and convo me if you are interested in those.

Oh, and on an unrelated note, the kids and I  made cards tonite for recovering American soldiers.  If you would like to do this too, you can mail the cards to:

A Recovering American Soldier

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Avenue, NW

Washington DC 20307-5001

 

 

Putting the Christ back in Christmas

After Thanksgiving my Mom saw a cute Advent calendar at Target and said "Why don't you get this for the kids?"  The thought of having to get more gifts for everyone was daunting, and I said, "nah"...  Then at Church on Sunday my eldest brought home an advent calendar.  After looking at it I decided for the first time to celebrate Advent this year.  It has been a perfect opportunity to put the Christ back in Christmas.  We are focusing on spending time together as a family, and doing things for others.

Logan made an advent wreath out of construction paper and we began by lighting the first candle on Sunday.  Every night we have done different Advent activities together as a family.  After dinner we start out in prayer, and then read a Christmas book together. 

 

We've made homemade Christmas ornaments, watched Rudolph together in our big bed, and talked about ways to spread Christmas joy.  We found a local sharing center that provides emergency aid to children and families in crisis, and bought some new shoes for a child to open on Christmas morning.  Tonite we will be making Christmas cards and sending them to our soldiers overseas, and this weekend we will be making Christmas cookies to deliver to our neighbors.

 

The kids look forward to our Advent activities all day, and it has been such a joy to make the time together.    I hope these are traditions that will carry on for many years to come. 

 

I would love to hear what you guys are doing to celebrate the season!  xo

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gobble till you wobble!

Finally-a Before and After!

BEFORE:

 

This is supposed to be the "dining room" of our house, but my furniture takes up the whole room!  So I've got my dining room in the "family room", and our "office" in the dining room.  Are you still with me?:)  Anyway, this room needed a make-over, and I finally finished!

 

We've had these blue curtains in here since we moved in.  The walls were painted a beige color, and then a couple of years I wanted to touch up.  Unfortunately, I bought semi-gloss instead of matte, so the walls have been very splotchy!

Here is the AFTER:

 

Much brighter and cleaner looking!  I painted the walls a nice clean white.  I am very happy with this color.  It is easy to keep clean and makes the rooms look brighter and larger. 

 

The whole color scheme is based around the mosaic on the top.  I made it two years ago and wanted a good place to hang it.  It is a four panel piece.  I wish I had taken some close-up shots of it.  Anyway, I found the new curtains at Big Lots for only $5.  They are too short, but that is a project for another day!

 

 

I made this chalkboard with some scrap wood and chalkboard paint.  I cut the fabric from the curtain tie backs.  I know it's matchy-matchy, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  The chalk holder is from a scrabble game.

 

 

The stars came from Old Time Pottery for almost next to nothing.  I love them! 

 

 

Last but not least, two bookshelves.  They are filled with my favorite books, magazines, and craft ideas.  I still need to hang a couple of book prints, but I'm trying to find the letters R, E, A, D to hang.  I know they have wooden ones at Michaels and Joannes, but I want something a little more original.

I hope everyone has had a good week.  I've been making an effort to stay off the computer a little more this week so I can accomplish more at home on my projects.  It worked!  Now I can play catch up on all my favorite blogs.:0)  Have a great weekend friends!

TGIF

Hey y'all.  I got behind on my blogging this week, but not because I wasn't "Making my Home a Haven".

I am in the middle of a room overhaul.  I got halfway through painting:

 

 

when my oldest one came in with a finger the size of a small hot dog:

 

We went to the orthopedics and it is definitely broken.

So anyway, I got sidetracked on the room, but went "accessory" shopping yesterday morning with Ava.for the room.  We went to Ross, TJ Maxx, and a few garage sales.  I'm proud to say I've only spent $42 total on this room redo, (we already had the paint), and I can't wait to show it to you!

My praise this week has been the same all week, and Monica was inspired by it too.

"Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,

for the Lord is good

His Love endures forever".

-Jeremiah 33:11

I have been reflecting all week on how grateful I am.  So grateful that in this time when our country is struggling, we have plenty of food, healthy children, and a roof over our heads.  We have so much more than that, and I am so grateful.  So grateful that I've signed up for two volunteer days at my church to serve others.  There is nothing as satisfying as helping others in need.

So, have a great weekend everyone!  Enjoy your families...:)  I hope to have pictures on Monday of my "new room".

Tuesday on "Making your Home a Haven"

At night after I tuck the kids in (between 7:30 and 8) I prepare for the next day. 

 I've always wanted one of these organizers, but wasn't willing to pay full price for it.  I found one last week at a thrift store for $2.  It hangs in my front closet and I put all the kids clothes in it for the week, including socks and underwear.  In the morning they can all get themselves dressed.  Shoes go in there immediately upon entering the house.  I also pack lunches, clean up the kitchen, run the dishwasher, put away any laundry, plan for the next homeschooling day, and usually vacuum the main rooms.  I really like to wake up to a clean house, especially the kitchen.  If I wake up to a messy kitchen, I get really crabby.  I also plan out the meal for the next day and get things prepped.  Tonite we're having green chile chicken from my crockpot, yellow rice, and fresh brocolli.

Today Monica's theme for the day is clean.  I won't lie, I don't really like to clean.  I love to tidy up and organize, but cleaning toilets is not my idea of a good time.  But, it has to be done!  After a trip to the grocery store (coming in at almost $42 under my budget!!:), I cleaned bathroom counters and floors, kitchen counters and floors, and the tops of my washer and dryer. I also vacuumed and tidied up the kids rooms. Of course more laundry.  Does anyone want to come over and put these away?:)

I also put away all of the Halloween decorations back in the attic and put out a few things for Thanksgiving.

I used a 50% off coupon last night at Michaels and got this sign for only $5.  I don't have a lot of Thanksgiving day decs, so I also got this turkey candle on clearance 70% off.  It was only $2!  I made the Thanksgiving day sign for my front door.

 

 

I've got some crafty projects planned for this afternoon, and then we're going to spend some time outside.  The weather here is absolutely gorgeous.  I hope everyone is haaving a great day!

Happy Monday

Hello friends.  I am asked all the time how I manage to have four kids and still work from home.  I am by no means an expert, but I will share some things that work for me, and our family.  I receive so much encouragement, advice, and inspiration from other bloggers who have large families.  One of my favorites is The Homespun Heart, and I am joining in this week on the "making your home a haven" week.  I consider myself very blessed to have my family, and I am constantly trying to make our home run more smoothly and efficiently.  Organization is definitely my key.

Monica is starting the week with tidying.  She always begins the day in prayer and with a plan.  That is the same for me!  Today was a homeschooling day for the oldest, and the two middle ones went to preschool from 9-1.  After nursing, an initial tidy-up, breakfast, driving the kids to school, and getting myself ready for the day, it was already 9:15!  My project today for tidying was my closet and our desk.  (In addition to 3 loads of laundry).  Here are my before and afters:

 

My closet floor before.  I am storing my Christmas presents in there (yes, I am done with my shopping).  Here is the after:

 

I tried to fit them in the storage container.  I also went through all my drawers and organized things.  I came up with a whole bag for donation.

Here is the before of our desk area:

 

Clutter drives me crazy!

Here is the after.  It took less than 10 minutes to tidy up this area.

 

We will finsih up the day with homeschooling, playing outside, and having dinner together as a family.  On Monday nights I usually go through all my coupons, sort through my pantry, and make my grocery list.  I try to use what we have, and buy on sale.  After keeping track of what we were spending at the grocery store, I have really tightened up here for our budget.  We were initially at about $800 a month for groceries.  I have easily budgeted down to $600, and I would like to get to $500. 

I know some of this is probably very boring to some of you, but if you are into creating a beautiful and peaceful home with a frugal mindset, come join me this week.  I'll share with you what I've learned, and I can't wait to see what everyone else does!:)