Summer Crafting and Decorating and TFT #398

Happy Thursday once again, and welcome to Thursday Favorite Things link party.

It's been a bit of a scary week.  We learned that our sweet Sunny has failing kidneys.  She's 13 1/2, so something like this isn't unexpected, but still...  The good news is, our "old lady baby" doesn't seem to know anything is wrong.  She is still mostly lively and definitely acting like herself, but she is tiring more easily.  Poor thing just had most of her remaining teeth pulled a few weeks ago, and now her kidneys. (Apparently, though, the kidney issues started a while back.)

So, as you can imagine, she is getting extra special doting from everyone.

But then, she's always been pretty doted on...

Sunny really lives up to her name, and nothing seems to daunt her spirit. So we are staying cheerful too!

With my daughter in 2011

Creative Walls, Little Boats, and TFT #397

I'm glad you're here to join in on the Thursday Favorite Things link party.

I'm seeing so many creative ideas at the party each week.  The food posts make me so hungry, though! I usually read the party posts before breakfast, and it's a little bit like torture, seeing all of the tasty stuff you all share.  (I have a few pounds to lose...)  But, keep them coming!  I'm also grateful for all of the DIYs, crafts, decor, and all of your sweet inspiration and advice. So, thanks for joining us!

Please don't forget to leave a comment with your link number. Some of my features are chosen from the comments.  Thank you!

Here are my features from last week's party:  (Please pin from the original source, not from the pictures here.)

Isn't this cardboard wall amazing?? (Yes, a cardboard wall!)   Cindy, from Upcycled Design Lab shared it, and I love it so much. So incredibly creative.

4th of July Desserts and TFT #396

Happy 4th of July, and welcome to another Thursday Favorite Things link party.  If you are celebrating today, I wish you a safe day of fun.  If the rain holds off, I will be spending my day in the pool!

This week's party is being extended to noon on Sunday.  Please leave a comment with your link number, and please pin from the original source. Thanks!

My features from last week's party include some tasty and fun treats, in the spirit of the holiday.

Features from last week's party:

There are lovely 4th of July treats and lots of inspiration from Kippi at Home.

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Summertime Projects and TFT #395

It's time for another Thursday Favorite Things link party, and I'm so glad you're here.

Our "old lady baby," otherwise known as Sunny,  had many teeth pulled several days ago. (She has one tooth left, her left lower "fang," the tooth we call her "big scary toofer."  (Yes, we are weird.)

She's 13 now, so I worry a bit more about her than I used to.  ("Is her pain medicine working?"  "Why does she keep chewing on her foot?"  And so on.)  She's had teeth pulled before, but with her age, it just seemed a little scarier this time.  She's such a resilient dog, though!  (She was originally a puppy-mill dog.)  Here she is, one day post "surgery:"

Isn't she the sweetest?

Now, the fact that Sunny had her teeth pulled has nothing to do with my features from last week's party.  But what a great opportunity to remind you all how wonderful rescue dogs are and to ask you to please adopt, don't shop!  (Most puppies at pet stores are from puppy-mills.)

My features from last week's party are a hodgepodge of projects I want to do!  Once again, you have amazed me with your creativity.

Please pin from the original sources, and don't forget to leave a comment with your link number when you share your posts. Thanks!

Here are my features from last week's party:

Learn how to preserve fresh flowers 4 simple ways at Yarn Scissors Silk.  I actually just did this with flowers from my daughter's wedding bouquet a few months ago!

Summer Travel and TFT #394

Welcome to another Thursday Favorite Things Link Party!

I hope you've all had a good week, and that those who had Father's Day celebrations enjoyed the day.  My nephew and niece hosted a spur of the moment party, and we enjoyed home-made pasta con broccoli, (and my sweet niece even made a gluten free batch for me!)   Family gatherings are special, and, as I get older, I appreciate them even more.

A couple of my features this week center around travel, and one of them will help you pack for the beach.  My husband and I are having a beach vacation in October to celebrate our anniversary, and I am so longing to hear those waves!

 This is how we spend our mornings and evenings (etc...) at the beach. Looking at and listening to the ocean, while we drink coffee.  Ahhh, I get more relaxed just thinking about it.

We're landlocked here in Missouri, (in St. Louis, home of the STANLEY CUP winning St. Louis Blues!), and I haven't seen the ocean for several years.  (P.S. If you have recently heard a hockey fan say "play Gloria," just know if has to to with the St. Louis Blues and a particular 80's Laura Branigan song that enhanced this amazing season.  You may want to google that...)  The parade last weekend was amazing.   Play Gloria!

Fun food, A Fun Project, and TFT #393

Happy Thursday, and welcome to the Thursday Favorite Things link party. I'm always so grateful to see so many bloggers contributing such creative and fun content, and I'm honored that you're here.

I have been having so much fun reading the posts from last week's party. (If you missed it, click here.)  This week, there were several fun food posts, and I'm including just a few of these in my features.

Another one of the features this week gives some simple  instructions for making a silhouette.

I have always loved silhouettes, probably because I had one done for me when I was a little girl, while on an outing with my mom, and I still remember what a fun memory it was.

To keep the tradition going, my husband and I had silhouettes done of our kids on a few different visits to Disney World. I'm always in awe of how much the silhouettes look like my kids, even though the people who created them used only scissors, with no sketching beforehand.  Of course, the kids had to sit still while this was done.

My silhouette from the 1960s and one of my kids' silhouette from the 1990s.

However, my grown son was looking at the silhouettes up on the mantel the other day, and with an impression of me from back in the day, he said, "Hey, while we're here at one of the most fun places on earth, let's force our kids sit dead still for a while and get silhouettes done."

I laughed so hard, because, yes, those were probably not the most fun experiences for my kids, having to sit still while someone cut out their silhouettes.  I am glad I have the silhouettes, though!

Now that you have the back story of the silhouettes, here are my features:  (Please pin from the original blog, not from here. Thanks!)

Jenna, from Rain on a Tin Roof shows us how to make an easy silhouette, (without having to make your kids sit still!)

Decorate My House and TFT #392

Welcome to Thursday, and welcome to another Thursday Favorite Things link party!

Many of you know that we moved into our house about a year and a half ago.  Life has been very hectic since then (to put it mildly), so I haven't really taken time to decorate much. Oh, I've pinned a plenty, but I haven't really tackled any of the projects. I've decided, though, that it's time to put some personality into the place and get motivated.

So, today, my features from last week's party highlight some decorating projects that I've decided I'm going to do in my new house!  (Yes, I'm planning to do them all!) 

Some party reminders:  Please pin from the original blog, and not from here.  Also, don't forget to leave a comment here with your link number. Thanks!

Here are my features:

This botanical gallery wall from Lecultivateur makes me so happy.  It's beautiful, and it looks simple to do.