Some Autumn Touches in the Living Room

Yesterday I shared the autumn leaf pillow I made. This is how it looks like on the sofa of the living room. The pillow next to it with the brown leaves is also made by me. For this I just cut leaf shapes by free hand, without tracing and just sewed it on.

The other thing I did was to keep two lanterns and place autumn leaves available in craft stores inside the lantern.

Here is the lantern up close.

Here is the corner of our living room. This mirror used to be on the mantle.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Sofa Styling

This is how I styled our living room sofa earlier this week. Last Friday I bought this yellow Trelliss fabric and I made covers for the two larger pillows. I made another polka dot cover with orange felt leaf for another small pillow in the same way I had made the other smaller pillow earlier. And I wanted the last pillow to be different and so I used a pale yellow fabric with gold polka dots that I had painted a while ago. I have not finished sewing the pale yellow pillow with the gold polka dots, but wanted to see how it looks. I chose a smaller print fabric for the larger pillows and the bigger print for the smaller pillows.

This is how it looks from the side of the family room. Also, I really liked this gray quilt with white pom-oms that I saw in a blog and found it is from Ballard Designs. I decided to make one and bought some gray fabric. I just spread the fabric on the sofa to see how the pillows look against the gray. I have not even started making the quilt yet.

This is how it looks up close.

I also want to change the cover for the other pillows in this room for a more autumn look. I will be sure to share them as soon as I am done. If you google sofa styling/pillow styling you can find lots of ideas on how to choose fabrics of various styles, prints and patterns and combine them for a stylish/elegant look.

This is how the sofa looked earlier. I am sorry the pictures with the new pillows are not that great because the weather was not perfect. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Squash Soup (Updated)

I feel so inspired to cook with autumn vegetables when I read other food blogs and magazines. Yesterday I made squash soup. The recipe is from a magazine from 2011 from recipe.com. My husband, Jerry and my son Joshua liked it. I did too. We had it with garlic bread which also I made but don't have a good picture.

My husband bought this charger for me from Pier1 Imports this Sunday. It is pretty, isn't it? I hope you have a wonderful day!

Strawberry and Pear Fruit Parfait

I made strawberry and pear fruit parfait for my son Joshua and my husband Jerry to have after school and work. I have made it before and every time I make it my family likes it. For me, it is a fun way to make everyone in my family eat fruit.

And it is so easy too since all you have to do is chop up the fruits of your choice and layer it.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Fleece Throw over Sofa for Warm and Cozy Autumn Look (updated)

Yesterday morning I draped a fleece throw blanket over our sofa in the living room to give it a warm and cozy look.

I also made the yellow pillow you see on the right side last week. I sewed felt and lace flowers on it. I want to embellish it some more. Shall share detailed photos when I am done.

I bought the flowers last week from our grocery store for $4.99 on sale.

Have a wonderful day! I have linked this post with the amazing blog notjustahousewife which is a great place for DIY projects. Hope you will take a look at all the great projects featured there today!

Happy Birthday Cake for Jeremiah

This is the birthday cake I made for my older son Jeremiah who turns 19 today. Jeremiah is a blessing to our family and to the world. I praise God for giving me the opportunity to raise this special child. My younger son Joshua is also a blessing to our family and to the world. I praise God for giving me the opportunity to raise this special child.

The cake is from cake-mix and the frosting is vanilla butter cream frosting made from scratch by me.

My son is at college right now and this is his first birthday away from our home but I trust that my heavenly Father will be with him and give him a very happy birthday.

If you are a follower of Christ and have prayed for my son, I wish to extend honor and heartfelt gratitude to each person who has prayed for my son. May God bless you abundantly and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Birthday Card

I made this card for my little one's birthday.

I used scrapbook paper, alphabet stickers, rhinestone stickers and ribbon to make this card. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Our Autumn Living Room

This is how I decorated our living room for autumn. I made two of the leaf pillows last week. I explained yesterday how I made the blue and orange pillow. For the cream and brown pillow, I just cut out leaf shapes free hand, without tracing and sewed it on. On to the green pillow which I had from before I sewed on a cream with gold polka dotted ruffled ribbon.

And here is the wreath I made for one wall of the living room. I used the same wreath I used all of last year. I just changed the decoration on it. For spring, I had flowers attached to the wreath and now I have autumn leaves. I also made a bow with the same ribbon with which I made the ruffle on the green pillow. The second wreath picture was taken with the green pillow cover as background while I was still attaching the leaves on it.

And here is the other corner of the living room. I hope you have a great day!

Leaf Pillow for Autumn Decorating

I wanted to add some autumn touches to our living room. So, last week, I made a pillow by outlining the shape of a real leaf onto newspaper. Then, I cut the shape of the leaf and then I traced that shape on a piece of orange felt that I had. After that, I cut the shape of the leaf on the felt and then I sewed it to the front of a polka dot pillow in cotton that I had made last week. I hope your day is going well. Thanks so much for reading.

A Cake with Chocolate Frosting and Sprinkles

I baked this cake in August. I was inspired to bake this cake from an image I saw in Pinterest. The cake is from cake mix and the frosting recipe is from Hersheys. I like the look of this cake a lot. I tried to make a roses cake but that did not come out that well.

I hope you have a splendid day!

Fabric and Paper Gallery Wall

Here is a gallery wall I made on the wall which is part of the stairs and hallway in our home. I wrapped pieces of thermocol with fabric and hung it on this wall with thumb tacks. The tiny frames are from the Target dollar section and I placed scrapbooking paper inside the frame.

Here is a view of the wall from the dining room. The fabric I had from before. The thermocol was free. The frames cost $2 and the paper less than a dollar. I am not sure, but I think this project cost less than $10.

Here is a view from the hallway. Have a wonderful day!

Pound Cake and Memory book page for Joshua (Updated)

Today I baked this pound cake. I got the recipe from Food and Wine Annual Cook Book 2008-- an entire year of recipes. I made this cake for Joshua who got A+ in all his school subjects. I am so proud of Joshua.

Here is a memory book page I am making for Joshua. This picture was taken when Jeremiah and Joshua were playing baseball. Our family visited Cooperstown which is filled with baseball museums and baseball stores. We took the children there thinking it would encourage them in their baseball playing talent. The town of Cooperstown is quaint and picturesque like it is from a story book. The streets are lined on either side with street lamps (I don't remember if it was cobblestone) but everything was perfect and peaceful. In the bus that took us to the city center the driver greeted our children and gave them souvenirs. Every body wears clothes which are formal and people are greeted with old fashioned politeness. That trip was the best memory ever.

I have not finished making this page. I cut out J shapes with different patterned paper, sewed buttons onto paper and cut out stars from star patterned paper. Shall share once I am done. Have a fabulous day!

Pretty Ribbon Organization with Spools, Wood Frame, Yarn and Tacks

Here is how I organized the ribbons I had with spools, a wood frame and tacks.

I used yarn and tacks to attach the spools to the frame and also used a small bit of tape to ensure the ribbons don't unravel. I got this idea from a Hobby Lobby Project Inspiration brochure which is available free in the store in pretty much every aisle. In the brochure they used pins to secure the ribbons to the spools and they used all wood spools I think. I hope you have a great day!