make something monday :: embroidered cork trivet

Hello and happy Monday friends! We had an insanely busy weekend over here. I had the pleasure of teaching class all day at Fusion Beads here in Seattle on Saturday which is always so much fun, and then on Sunday morning we left our house bright and early (6:30am) with all three kids in tow and made our way to Church for most of the day to do the music. When we got home yesterday after 3pm I was so pooped and happy that we managed to survive such a full schedule!

I also had the pleasure of meeting some of my new favorite blogger friends, The Ravenna Girls for a cupcake and coffee this weekend. I have had such fun getting to know Brianne and Danielle the past few months in person, they are such a treat! They blessed our kids with some fun hand-me-down bean bag chairs (the kids LOVE them!) and they also gifted me this gorgeous post for this mornings make something monday feature! I am so excited to share it with you it's really adorable!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend whatever you found yourself up too. I am off to accomplish some things around home today and will be back soon!

_______________________________________________________

Good day, friends! It is such a pleasure to have the opportunity to share this space once again, especially as we've gotten to know Rebekah in person in the last couple of months. Friends are such a great blessing, especially those made through such a surprising venue as the internet.

So here we go!

Last fall, we picked up a couple packs of HEAT cork trivets at IKEA and have been hanging onto them to spruce up for the table. I had considered painting, but couldn't quite find the right paint that was good for cork but also heat proof. You don't want your trivet to stick to the bottom of your hot dish, after all. I have heard good thinks about wood burning cork, but I was itching for a little more color. Then, I spotted these coasters on Craft blog and it got my wheels turning. Last weekend we picked up a bag of springy cotton cord at the Goodwill, and the idea for these trivets was born!

I used the smaller of the HEAT cork trivets for these. On one side, mark out your geometric grid using pencil lines and a ruler. For this size, I started 3/4" from the edge, and spaced the grid 1.5 apart.

Since I knew that I would be going through each point several times, I punctured each grid point with a knitting stitch holder just enough to guide the needle. You could also use a bamboo skewer, toothpick, or sturdy needle.

Then its just a matter of threading your needle and experimenting with geometric patterns amongst the grid pattern. I did one in two shades of green in preparation for St. Patty's day, and another getting ready for Easter.
 

The best part is that you could pull out the string, and re-use for the next holiday, making an inexpensive and easy seasonal craft. Happy Crafting!

 If you didn't want to use these on the table top, they would also make cute little message boards:

{Couple small notes: (1) you might notice a switched from a plastic yarn needle to a metal needle halfway through. This is because the cork broke my plastic needle, and I found that the metal needle actually worked better if you can find one with an eye large enough for your string. (2) I first tried drilling the holes, but it was a disaster. You don't need anything nearly that powerful to set your grid}

Thanks so much to Rebekah for having us again, we hope to be back someday soon!

*don't forget to check out the Ravenna Girls blog HERE and say hello. They have tons of fun craft inspiration and eye candy over there and they are truly the sweetest ladies ever! Thanks girls xoxo!

today was...

full to the brim

a wild morning of getting my three ready to head out the door

two cups of coffee to wake up

a trip to Seattle

sitting in traffic and singing to the radio with my babes

an hour and a half wait at the doctor before Simon's check up

my younger two hanging out with auntie Jenny and cousin Wes

a yummy lunch waiting after with lots of noise and the Mommies trying to hear each other speak

cupcakes from my favorite place and my new favorite flavor, Samoa

a long drive back home

worn out and thankful to see Daddy for an hour before he headed to worship practice

peanut butter sandwiches and apples for dinner, guilt free :)

dancing and making each other laugh before bed

stories prayers and goodnight kisses

...thankful for another day given to me freely, I am one blessed (and tired) Mama!

Vintage Button Rings

Happy Monday everybody I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I am over on the Beautifully Rooted blog this morning sharing this super easy idea for rings made with vintage buttons come on over HERE and say hi if you like! I have been so blessed an honored to be a part of the community of women over there if you haven't had a chance yet I encourage you to check out some of the incredible postings from some amazing girls!

I hope you have a great day today I will be back soon!

{my february favorites}

{one} - stacy bostrom photography {two} - jack and the kumquat {three} - cookie mondays {four} - paint chip madness {five} - boyds will be boyds {six} - peeper summarized {seven} - unique simplicity {eight} - a pretty cool life {nine} - live simply {ten} - re.collected

Better late than never on this months favorites - I wanted to take my time and make sure to get around and peek at all of the incredible sets from this months participants. Really beautiful stuff this time I am always blown away by the beauty you guys find in the ordinary it's inspiring. Thank you once again to everyone who participated in the Ten on Ten project it always blesses my heart! Until March happy photographing everyone!

Learn more about the project HERE.

dinner at eight :: sweetheart

{Dinner at Eight is a special project I am doing with my friend Andi this year - planning date nights at home for our husbands, putting the kids to bed early and being intentional about our marriages! Read more about the dinner at eight project HERE}

This past year I have been learning so much about Gods provision. Not always an easy thing to trust or count on I will confess but always, ALWAYS finds it way into our lives especially when we are looking for it. I love this dinner at eight feature it is very close to my heart but sometimes the thought of putting together a little more effort for a date night at home is hard. After we moved last Fall and I unexpectedly found myself pregnant again I was am tired. I don't always have the enthusiasm to try.

But this I know: God loves marriage and He loves to provide for us and last night I was so blessed by both of those things. A few weeks ago when I said I was bringing dinner at eight back I really was excited I promise but as it got closer pulling off a nice date started to feel so exhausting and on Sunday I still had so much to do.

I needed to go to the store. I had my Pinterest board going for inspiration and a loooong list of things that I wanted to make for the date. But we were out at Church until late afternoon and by the time we got home I just needed to sit my tired body down.

My step Mom, Julia hadn't seen the kids in several weeks and popped by for a little visit and she brought with her a bag of goodies to share. Guess what was in the bag? It was all the makings for the sweetest evening, oh how the Lord provided us such a gift through her!

First she brought me some red tulips to brighten up the place. She packed two rib eye steaks from their grass fed beef stash because she knows we aren't able to afford that kind of treat often and she thought Chris might like it especially. Some potatoes, mushrooms and a salad plus a little plate of veggies and dip for an appetizer. I think I almost cried when she pulled it all out of the bag and laid it on the counter.

That evening after she had gone home I told Chris it was such an unexpected blessing and we both agreed that we could not wait to enjoy the steaks. I then decided to forgo all the over the top decorations and gathered up what I had around the house for the next nights date.

As luck would have it Amanda from Festivities Party Supply had sent me some adorable red and white striped straws and flags (thanks Amanda!) to use for our date night and they provided a little more red to go with the tulips. I also laid out the vintage fifties red roses table cloth (also a gift from Julia long ago it was her Mom's I love it!) and hung up my little xoxo bunting from the talented Stacey Winters etsy shop!

Then I got out my trusty glass jar collection and filled each one with white feathers and a battery operated candle to add a festive glow. So easy and yet so special especially when I set the card table out by the fireplace.

And that was about it. I waited to start dinner until Chris came home last night. Instead I fed the kids and then we both took turns getting them ready for bed and working on our food. 

I will be honest Josie went down pretty easily but our boys were NOT even close to sleeping while we enjoyed our meal together. It was pretty comical listening to them rough housing and carrying on. At one point we heard a terrible loud crash and lots of crying and my heart stopped but all ended up fine. And they did eventually go to bed. But to be honest it wasn't even a big deal they knew we were having some alone time and  even though they kept interrupting us it still felt really really special to get some good adult conversation mixed in. And the food was super yummy too!

We enjoyed Chris' favorite milk shakes in these sprinkle rimmed jars and I also made a vegan chocolate torte. So I am happy to report that dinner at eight was a blessing to our relationship once again and the Lord truly provided for us in really tangible ways. I am looking forward to doing it again next month!

So now it's your turn, did you host a little date night at home for your sweetie or do you plan too this month? If so please consider heading over to the dinner at eight page HERE and adding your date night post to the linky so that we can all see it and be blessed. I think Andi is planning a date night to and I will let you know when her post is up!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

XOXO

Happy Valentine's Day! I am working on my Dinner at Eight post for later on but thought I would take a little chocolate break (could also be why Josie has boycotted her naps today - exhibit A above :)) and let you in on a really exciting secret. I am super honored to introduce you to a brand new site that has launched this morning called Beautifully Rooted. It has been in the works for quite awhile and is a place dedicated to encouraging woman in their faith through inspirational words, inspiring projects and creative vision. I am honored to be included you can read all about it HERE!

OK I will leave you with a little heart booty and be back in a bit.

sweetheart date

I have been busy setting up a little date for Mr. Gough and I for this months Sweetheart Dinner at Eight theme! I am going very simple with the decorations this time but setting up something always makes it so much more special and I am really looking forward to putting the kids to bed early for a quiet night alone!

We are also filling out some store bought Valentines cards for Simon's class tomorrow - I am lame and didn't make handmade but he seems please with his super hero themed cards and I'm also trying to ignore the rest of the house and all of the mess...the farther I get in this fourth pregnancy the less energy I have to do just about anything. I will be back tomorrow with more details from our date - hope your having a wonderful Monday!

Ten on Ten :: February 2012

 I hope you guys all had a wonderful day capturing the beauty and life around you. We spent a nice quite one at home. I am so looking forward to looking through your sets this evening and will be back with my favorites from the month soon. If you haven't had a chance yet scroll down to the post below and add your set to the linky. Looking forward to seeing you all again in March!!

Learn more about the ten on ten project HERE.

Ten on Ten :: February 2012

Happy tenth everyone I hope your day is off to a magnificent start! I am so excited to check out all of your sets this evening - if you are new to the project all you do is take a photo an hour for ten hours and document the ordinary beauty you find today. Post the photos on your blog and then come back here and link your set for all of us to see. I hope you have a wonderful day friends!

more about the project HERE

<a border="0" href="http://www.rebekahgough.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k578/rebagough/Screenshot2010-10-11at110042AM.png" border="0" alt="ten on ten button" /></a>

Tomorrow is Ten on Ten!

Don't forget to charge your camera batteries tonight. I am hoping you will join me for ten on ten!!

beaded heart necklace

I have a little jewelry tutorial to share with you today it's a sweet, simple (don't feel intimidated if you are new to jewelry making it is simple) and fun addition to any outfit during this valentines month that gets us all in the mood for sweethearts and chocolate...a beaded heart necklace.

Supplies:

seed beads in three colors
head pins
wire
jump rings
chain
jewelry tools including round nose pliers and flush cutters

and if you are new to jewelry making familiarize yourself with wire wrapping HERE as you will need to know how to do this.

Simply follow the pattern below and slip the beads onto the headpins.

Wire wrapping at the tops of each row.

When all of your rows of beads are assembled cut a long piece of wire (I used 20 gauge for this) and wire wrap one end then slip the rows of beads on in order with a white bead in between each row and close the opposite end with another wire wrap.

Add some chain with jump rings and viola your done!

Pattern:

row one: 1 black, 2 white, 2 black, 9 white
row two: 1 black, 2 white, 2 black, 4 white, 2 pink, 4 white
row three: 1 black, 2 white, 2 black, 4 white, 4 pink, 3 white
row four: 1 black, 2 white, 2 black, 4 white, 5 pink, 3 white
row five: 1 black, 2 white, 2 black, three white, five pink, five white
row six: 1 black, 2 white, 2 black, 4 white, 5 pink, 3 white
row seven: 1 black, 2 white, 2 black, 4 white, 4 pink, 3 white
row eight: 1 black, 2 white, 2 black, 4 white, 2 pink, 4 white
row nine: 1 black, 2 white, 2 black, 9 white

Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

the time we decided to paint our room

Ha, that sounds so innocent doesn't it...and it really was.

On Friday afternoon Chris and I decided that it would be a great weekend to get to work on finally painting our room. After all nesting is kickin into high gear over here and my back is only gonna hold out for so long.

We cleared out our room, took down the bed and put out the drop cloth before Chris got to work on cutting in the edges. I went out for a lovely little dinner date with my bestie and after getting home late we ended up deciding to camp out (Chris on the couch and me in Simon's bed) since our bed wasn't set up and we wanted to continue working on Saturday.

Hahahaha...oh my gosh. So of course we both end up with little sleep Simon kept waking me up all night he didn't really understand why he was in bed with Levi when he could snuggle Mom in his bed. Apparently Chris was up sick all night too but I didn't know. By the morning we were both feeling pretty ill. And I told Chris I needed to lay down for a little longer. When I woke up Chris was about three shades of green, he had finished the first coat of paint but I could tell that was about all he could handle.

He started puking...

I kicked it into high pregnant hormone driven Mommy gear. My kids were stuck in front of the TV and I was frantically painting because I knew I had to get our bed back in place - poor Chris was so ill he was curled up downstairs sick as a dog. I ran to the drug store for Gatorade and saltines and such and then flew home and frantically painted. Josie was screaming from her crib and the boys were zoning out while Chris was so sick...

Thinking about it now it was actually fairly comical - and thankfully a little voice inside told me to call for help. I hate calling for help but I did it and praise Jesus my Mom and Dad in law came to our aid Saturday evening. (Thank you Steve and Paula so much!) Phew. By Sunday morning the bathrooms had been deep cleaned, sheets all sanitized, the room painted and the kids were with grandma and grandpa and when I opened my eyes I saw the prettiest shade of aqua welcoming me to a brand new day!

It's always something isn't it...but hey at least I can tick painting our room off the list. Now onto painting the bathroom and a few dozen other things before this fourth baby makes his/her debut in only THREE months!! I will give you a tour when I finish decorating our newly painted room I promise!

Happy Monday - so how was your weekend? :)