Homeschool News and Catching Up

Hello dear blogging friends, it's hard to believe that 3 months have past since my last blog post.  That is a record for me!  Although I've been a little active on Instagram, I miss catching up with all of you on this forum.  So I will do my best to return to interacting more in blogland this fall.
This little hobby of mine got put on the back burner due to a huge decision our family made this summer.  I'll tell you a little about it as I post photos of changes to our dining room....

This craigslist dresser now stores all our books and supplies for HOMESCHOOLING.  Many factors went into our decision to homeschool our two children, but the most important was to teach our children the Catholic faith and all its' beautiful truth.  We now have the freedom to tailor a curriculum at a pace for each child and to enjoy spending more time with them.  Since beginning in August, we have been so impressed with the curriculum we are using, purchased from Catholic Heritage Curricula.  It is rooted in all the beauty of our faith.  I am learning right along with the children, discovering things I never knew, which makes me appreciate our faith even more.

They still get to see many of their friends at extra-curricular activities and playdates, as well as meeting new friends in a homeschool hiking class where they learn about nature and the ecosystem.

Each morning we ask Saint Anne de Beaupre (Mary's mother) to pray for us.  We visited her shrine in Quebec City, Canada during the summer, and took home this beautiful little figurine which was blessed for us.

We only have one chance to raise our children, in a limited period of time on this earth.  What a gift to be able to spend more vital hours with them teaching, learning, playing and praying together.  Less time running around in a flurry will be time well spent.  We will never regret spending more time with our children.   

Parents know and love their children better than any other human being. God knows our children best, and has given parents a duty to raise up their children to follow Him and eventually enter His kingdom in heaven.  That is the ultimate goal in this life He’s given us.  

It is our hope that our children's hearts will be filled with a joy of the Gospel, which they excitedly share with the world…on the road to heaven.

And so each morning we meet here in this room, say some prayers, the Pledge of Allegiance, and begin to learn something new.  Each day brings interesting discoveries, discussions, and yes - challenges.  But we're together and open to what God is telling us.

That's all I can ask for.

First Day of Homeschool

Summer Peonies

Our peony bushes only graced us with two blooms this year, but I'll take them!  I think it may be time to move these bushes into a sunnier area.  :(
Once these two bloomed, I made the best of showcasing them in various rooms.  Here they are mixing in with the dried lavender in the living room:

And on the side table in the dining room:

They looked so pretty sitting on the kitchen table, too:

These beauties have since passed on, but the good thing about having a blog is we get to revisit our faded flowers.

I also finally finished a miniature crochet banner I was working on.  It hangs against our living room radiator.  I love the texture.

Hope everyone's July is going great so far!

Sharing with:
Feathered Nest Friday
Shabbilicious Friday
Sundays at Home with Thoughts from Alice

Lavender Sachets

Well it's official.  Summer is here!  Our children had their last day of school Friday and now the summer fun commences.  I love these long, sunny days, and plan to carve out some time for creating as well as fun activities.
I wanted to let you know about some recent goods added to my Etsy shop.  I can't believe Etsy is celebrating its' 10th anniversary!  I've been enjoying selling there for almost 4 years now and I want to thank everyone who has visited my shop, even just to peek.  :)

I love the smell of lavender and these sachets are the latest to my collection:

The red floral fabric is just lovely, and I've added a patch of vintage French laundry tape to each.

I've listed two of these, but I do have two more that I just need to stuff with lavender.

They fit right in with my other sachets for sale:

The Flea Market Finds section of my shop has some great new treasures as well:

Hope you stop by for a visit.  Enjoy your summer - I'll be checking in here from time to time!

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Feathered Nest Friday
Sundays at Home with Thoughts from Alice

Trunk Makeover with MMS Milk Paint, White Lilacs and First Communion

Happy June!  I can't believe how fast May flew by.  It's been busy here.  For starters, I've been having fun re-stocking my Etsy shop with vintage treasures and handmade pieces.  The creative muse is on overdrive!  Also, my family had a fun expedition to the local flea market and I found something I've long been searching for - a vintage wood trunk.  Actually, my husband spotted it when we were about to leave.  I wanted the trunk to be something we both liked, and this one fit all our criteria.  It is definitely old, well-made of solid wood, large, and has a flat top to double as a coffee table and storage.

I painted the trunk using Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint for the first time.  It came out just as I had envisioned with a nice chippy patina.  I ended up mixing equal parts Shutter Gray with Grain Sack to get a light grayish color.  Love it!

Here is a photo of the trunk prior to painting.  I may replace those dirty old rope handles with something new eventually:

Although the wood was definitely worn down, I discovered as I painted that I did need to sand some patchy areas that still had a bit of glossy sheen.  The milk paint had fallen right off of those areas once it dried.  But the second coat of milk paint stayed after I sanded.

Here are some more lilacs to share with you...bunches of the white variety in our dining room:

They smelled wonderful while they lasted!

Another fun outing our family had this May was to a book sale at the library.  I got some wonderful vintage books there and this one is my favorite - a vintage Charles Dickens' children's book!
I adore the sweet cover:

Inside are the most delightful illustrations as well:

Speaking of sweet....the best news to share is that our daughter received her First Communion in May!  Tears welled as I watched her receive Jesus for the first time in the Sacrament of Eucharist.   My heart just...swelled.  I love that girl.

Sharing with:
Feathered Nest Friday
Shabbilicious Friday
Sundays at Home with Thoughts from Alice
Furniture Friday Feature with Miss Mustard Seed

A visit to Minted

Hello friends!  Today is an absolutely gorgeous spring day and I've got all things floral on my mind.  A trip to the garden store has me inspired, as well as an online trip to Minted!
The folks at Minted recently contacted me and I was delighted to visit their amazing website.  I've been familiar with their products, but this latest visit has me blown away by all the new offerings.
Did you know they not only carry designs for business cards and holiday cards, but also gorgeous wedding themed cards, gifts and beautiful art prints from a diverse group of talented artists?

This lovely spring floral art print caught my eye.  It is called 'Meander' and designed by Betty Hatchet:

Image via Minted

Another surprise I discovered while perusing was that one of my favorite artists, Olivia Kanaley, is a designer for Minted.  I have always admired Olivia's work for many years, first discovering her via her contributions to Victoria magazine.  Now I can continue to admire her work on Minted and via her fabulous contributions on their Julep blog.  Her posts can be found here.

I am crushing on these fabric favor boxes she posted about (Minted offers fabrics, too):

Image via Minted

There are a plethora of designs to choose from for wedding invitations, cards, save-the-date postcards, etc. in the latest wedding collection.
I love that they offer numerous choices in their search criteria, and you know I clicked the 'Vintage' option straight away!  This design by Cadence Paige just stole my heart:

Image via Minted

My brother-in-law is getting married this year, and I was so excited to discover that his save-the-date postcard and shower invitation were designed on Minted!  I knew I recognized those from our fridge. This is the design he used for save-the-date:

Image via Minted

I adore how it looks like a chalkboard sign - there are many designs like that available.

Well, you know what I'll be doing this November...spending a lot of time on Minted choosing a holiday card for our family.  And there's always our next celebration to plan for. :)

Thanks for visiting.

********   Disclosure - I am being compensated for this post, and love their website!  ********

Lilac time!

The windows are open, the birds are chirping, and my house smells of heavenly lilacs!  Spring is here to stay.

I've had this bookshelf standing on our living room buffet since Christmas, and thought I'd take some photos of how it's styled today with a combination of my favorite things...

Vintage clocks and books are the best pairing, don't you think?

Ribbons, old keys and tarnished silver aren't so bad together, either...

This lovely lady hasn't minded sitting in this box for a while...

Happy spring, friends!

Sharing with:
Feathered Nest Friday
Shabbilicious Friday
Sundays at Home with Thoughts from Alice