orange + your bff = awesome!

It has been too long since I have shared either {pretty, happy, funny, real} or needle and thREAD, so today I am combining them both in one rockin' post! Ha! Humility is my middle name...

So let's get started shall we...
{pretty, happy, funny, real}

So one Fall afternoon my hubby decided to surprise me with a little ray of sunshine...well actually...twelve rays of sunshine...


For a man who believes that fresh flowers are a waste of money because they "just die", I appreciate that he cared enough to bring these home to his wife who adores fresh cut flowers. The man truly does love me.

Of course I could not have a post where one of the most beautiful people in my life wasn't on display...that would of course be the Princess Courtney and her handsome sidekick...


Recently my BFF Christine celebrated a birthday and I knew I had to come up with something original. My sweet friend LOVES the color orange. Not harvest orange or pumpkin orange but Crayola Crayon original orange with bright yellow as a close second.



She also loves to set a beautiful table for her family which many nights includes cloth napkins. So, I headed to my craft closet and chose a few combinations of fabric that I knew would make her smile. I decided to sew two separate sets of napkins, one with six napkins and one with eight. They both would easily fit into her existing sets of solid yellow or orange napkins when she had a larger gathering adding in pops of pattern and color.


I cut my fabric in 18" squares (allowing for 1/2 inch seams on all four corners) and got to work. It was the first time I had sewed in a few weeks and it felt good to be back at the peddle again.


I kept it simple. I used two different fabrics for each one so she could chose which side to display. I also added two lines of stitching along the edge of each napkin. A clean and classic finish allowing the fabric to do the work.


The first set was a combination of Riley-Blake fabric, so happy and full of life. Just like my friend Christine.


The second set was a little more "country-ish" using sunflower fabric on one side and a deeper shade of green on the other. Sunflowers are her favorite flower, since they are so bright, open and happy. Again, just like my friend Christine. I am satisfied with the result. Not perfect stitching but not horrific. I prayed as I stitched, hoping they would being a smile to her face and peace to her table.



~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~



I think I got it right. She was pretty smiley...don't ya think? I also wanted to make her an apron but I ran out of time. So I hit Williams and Sonoma on-line with a happy little coupon and found a canvas apron the perfect shade of orange.  I knew that she had this item on her "wish list" for quite some time and couldn't wait to see her reaction.


She sees the color and her eleven-year-old daughter Tori knows that there will be a Snoopy happy dance throw down shortly. Unfortunately. I did not get it in film. Believe me it was EPIC!!


It's ORANGE!!! Score one for the BFF!!


Her excitement is palpable.


Yep...gift giving is my middle name. It was SO MUCH FUN!!


Sr. Sunflower and I may have gotten carried away in the celebration...no alcohol was involved in this event...at least not for the two of us. LOL!  Yes, this is our natural state when we are together...yes, you should be very, very afraid.

Now for the combination of these two meme's...what I have read this week. 

For the past few weeks I have been plugging my way through a few books that will remain on my keeper shelf. First I highly recommend the book "Everything: What You Give and What You Gain to Become Like Jesus", by author Mary de Muth. I reviewed it here. 

It really got me thinking about my own personal relationship with Christ and where I need to grow in faith and trust. It was not a difficult read, but I did need to stop and journal through some things as they came along. A very good book. 

I also just finished reading  "A Light In the Window"  by Julie Lessman. 

I loved this inspirational romance novel, but then I love a good Christmas story. One thing I love about Ms. Lessman's writing style is her ability to build an emotional arc for each character that draws you into their struggle and makes you route for them to find God and one true love. I have never been disappointed in her work. I reviewed the book in depth here. 

So there you have it. It's nice to be back in the blogging world. I missed you all!!



...head on over to In the heart of my Home for more needle and thREAD...Inspiration awaits!


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