When we decided to make the move back home, my husband took on the charge to find our new home. He was traveling back and forth to work in Georgia anyway so he spent time visiting properties, taking pics and measurements, and eventually narrowed down his search to two homes.

After building 3 homes and remodeling our home in Pennsylvania, I was tired of home renovations… yep, I had finally hit my limit. So my only request was “MOVE-IN READY!”

Obviously, I trust him implicitly.

Well, we didn’t wind up with move-in ready, but it’s not too bad (for me!). The husband has repainted the entire house (vaulted ceilings and all)… refinished the wood floors, added A/C vents here and there… and on and on and on…

Our biggest project will be finishing the basement – a huge, scary project that I will definitely document and share.

So for the first time in a long time, I really don’t have anywhere to sew, but I’m making it work! I’m camped out on the dining room table and on a folding table in the middle of our skeleton basement.

We’re working to get this renovation going quickly. Here are the before pictures of what will become my studio.

It’s a total blank slate. I really don’t have any vision for the after, but I know it will come together.

Do you have any ideas to share? What features would you put into your dream studio? Please share in the comments below.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been collecting your ideas for dressing up my garden entrance and you've shared some really amazing ideas!!

Rain bells, wind chimes, paint, climbing vines... I can picture it all in my mind's eye!

I was perusing my Pinterest boards and was reminded of this lovely garden gate wreath that I found, courtesy of Funky Junk Interiors.

I love everything about this wreath - the use of mason jar rings, the weathering, the naturally created color scheme. It's just perfect.

So, I set off last week to find old mason jar lids. Personal contacts, Craigslist, local thrift shoppes.

No luck.

So, I searched the internet for places to order them.

Whoa! Too expensive.

Finally, Kimberly suggested the discount store, Big Lots, and that's where I found these!

Not only were they inexpensive ($2.50 for 12), they are also a lovely bronze color - rather than the bright silver that you typically see.

I set to work forming my wreath.

With baling twine.

Fail.

With coat hanger wire.

Fail.

With a wire wreath form.

Perfect!

I looped a length of baling twine around the 2 supports on either side of my cuts to close the form so the rings will not slide off. It also serves as a great way to hang the wreath.

It's actually a little too small for the scale of the gate. But... all-in-all a simple, sweet way to dress up my garden gate and it will weather beautifully!

And I'm not talking about personalities.

{Which, of course, is ABSOLUTELY the case... just not for this post. **wink**}

We completed our veggie garden this week! We finally got those plants in the ground! Tomatoes, peppers, beans, eggplant, radishes, watermelon, squash, zucchini, and more!

Just in time for three days of soaking rain, too.

Here's where we started:

Here are a few of the photos that I pinned for inspiration:

{Oooooo...}

{Ahhhhh....}

{Ohhhhhh...}

And here's the reality of our {almost} finished project:

Yeah. We discovered that buildin' fences is 'spensive. It would have taken nearly $1,000 to build a pretty wooden fence around our 24' x 36' garden! I thought that was a bit much for such a small space.

So, we decided to simplify and focus on what's really important - the homegrown veggies!

I'll confess that I'm a {tad} disappointed that it's so plain. Just a tiny little bit. We still have to add boards to the bottom of the fence (to mirror the top frame) and stretch the wire taut, but we were in good enough shape to get the plants in the ground.

I expect a bounty from this garden. My husband is a very patient and gifted gardener. His green thumb never ceases to amaze me {and he's so humble}.

Right now, I have my eye on that board above the gate. It needs some whimsy, don't you think? Any ideas?

Yep... I've been takin' care of business all weekend long! I'm trying to clear some items off of my "to do" list so that they won't be hanging over my head during the holidays.

The great news {for me, anyway} is that I've got some time off this week and have several creative projects to tackle! So, I'll be posting throughout the week, instead of waiting for the weekend.

Whoo-hoo!

Moving on to more fun business... look what came in over the weekend!!

My 7-year-old was so excited to see his handiwork on display in the magazine. This has been such an amazing experience.

Next on the agenda...

I really, really enjoyed reading all of your suggestions for what I should do with my sports letters. You ladies are such an inspiration!

I smiled, ooh and ahh'd, and slapped my head a few times, thinking "That's genius! Why didn't I think of that?"

{I actually have a board dedicated to these moments on Pinterest.}

The random number generator {yes, I've moved on from scrap paper in a bucket} selected Katie to receive a little bundle of these appliques for her own project. Congratulations, Katie!!

I look forward to sharing with you what I finally decided to do with the letters. Please check in with me again to find out if I'm successful.

{fingers crossed}

And finally, two minor announcements...

You may now find Always a Project at always-a-project.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaysaproject! {I know, I know... I'm late to the party!}

My interaction with each of you is what makes this effort so special. I hope that Facebook will help us to exchange ideas even more often. So, if you log on, please "Like" my page.

Happy Monday! I look forward to touching base with you again throughout this holiday week!

I'm especially excited about this thrifty find that I picked up at the Salvation Army last month. They had a huge bin of new sports letter appliques and they were selling them 20 for $1! Can you believe that?!

I was reminded about my fun purchase thanks to Jodi Kahn's Homecoming Onesie post from earlier this week. Such a perfect project for this time of year!

But, I don't know what to do with my letters...

There are the usual suspects - t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. But, I want to do something really fun.

It's been a while since I've done a giveaway so you are due! Leave me some comments with ideas about what you might do with these appliques. I'll pick someone at random on Sunday, November 20, to receive 5 of these pieces for your own project.

I can't wait to hear about what you have in mind!!

I've been MIA, but not because of the movie premiere.

{Which, by the way, was really good! The back of my head gave an amazing performance.}

There has been illness, major changes at work, house errands. I've been so busy!

First order of business... the scarf that I promised last week goes to {by random drawing}... Miss Dixie of Dixie DIY! Congrats! I'm sorry it took me so long to make the announcement.

I've been thinking a lot about friendship over the past few months. It's something we take for granted too often. And the older we get, the harder it is to make new friends and to honor commitments to each other. It is too easy to cancel plans or duck out of girls' night - for good reasons - life is insanely busy!

But we need our friends, don't we? They are a constant source of inspiration, support, and renewal. You feel it in your spirit when you've missed out on that one-on-one time together.

Having said that, the Lord has richly blessed me with some pretty amazing friends.

Allow me to introduce you to Kimberly.

Wait here she is...

Dang it... that's her super adorable little boy again... getting his first little kiss from beautiful little Miss Stella. Does it get any cuter!!

Ah, here she is. Completely gorgeous, right? I would shave my head if I could grow red hair like hers!

Kimberly and I are fairly new friends. I often wonder where she's been all my life!

But let me confess... we're bad influences on each other. We get together and the creativity starts flowing and, before we know it, our wish/do lists have grown 300%! Bad, bad, bad... And now that we've both discovered Pinterest, good laaawwwd!

But, seriously, Kimberly is sheer genius. She comes up with the most amazing creative solutions.

I mentioned wanting to make tee-pees for the boys, but I couldn't find the fabric that I wanted to use. It seemed like everything was sooo expensive - considering I needed 8-10 yards per tee-pee! I also wanted the fabric to be heavy enough that the boys could paint their own designs on it. Can you picture how great that would be?

My dear Kimberly put a lot of thought into it and came up with a fabulous idea.

Are you ready for this?

CANVAS DROPCLOTHS!!!!!!!!!!!

So perfect. So accessible. So affordable!!! I picked up a 9' x 12' dropcloth (approximately 8 full yards of fabric) for $20!

So, guess what I'm starting this weekend??

{I should mention a mountain of other ideas have now formed around these dropcloths. Watch out, Home Depot! I'm coming to clean you out!}

Who do you draw creative inspiration from? I hope you have a Kimberly.

I challenge you this week to handwrite a personal note to a friend you haven't connected with in a while. Not only will you COMPLETELY make their day, you will receive a huge emotional boost, too.

So... Go. Write. Be happy.