Link Love No.29!

Hi everyone, how was your weekend? I bet many of you had a wonderful time on Halloween. It all started on Friday, I had a Halloween parade to attend at my kid's school, after the parade, I went to three different class parties for each one of my children. Around 3 o`clock, there was a company Halloween party at my husband`s work. Then, there was a church party to go to. It was a great day, well, especially for the kids.

Now it is November; are you ready to switch gears for Thanksgiving? I am planning a "Thanksgiving giveaway" like I did last year, so start looking around for the blessings in your lives! :)

I have five links that I am going to spotlight for this week.

There is always something new to learn every week. Have you ever heard of "Paintable textured wall paper"? Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom used this paintable wall paper and did wonders to her stairwell wall. Isn't it pretty?


Simply Step Back used a men's Sweater to make a cute tunic top for herself! I think the new sweater fits her well and is very pretty.


Jcrew inspired floral ruffle top was linked by Welcome to the Good Life. There are many t-shirt repurposings out there, and I think this is one of my favorites! I want this top for myself!


Check out this well put together tutorial for a flirty flower pin by Twelve Crafts Till Christmas. I bet many of you are starting to thinking about Christmas presents for your friends and family (yes I am one of them). I think it is so cute by it self or as a part of the wrpping of a gift for Christmas.


Creating Comfort shared some amazing furniture redos. She has an eye for transforming something plain into something beautiful...Great job!


Usually, I do five spotlights... but I had to share this one for Halloween next year.
I was going through the links, and the title, "Ghost Poop", caught my eye... "What is that?" I thought. So I went to Can`t Stop Making Things. Isn't it so fun and clever?!


Thank you all for sharing your awesomeness (is that even a word?). Have a great start of the week everyone!

Taste of the season ~ Butternut Squash Soup ~

I have been in a cooking mood lately. I have tried some new recipes, and also I have been experimenting with the pressure cooker. It is fun.

Several days ago, I made this butternut squash soup. I have been wanting to make a "fall soup", and when I was at the grocery store, I bought a butternut squash impulsively. Without knowing exactly what am I going to do with it.

I googled "Butternut Squash Soup" and read many recipes and reviews (well, I didn't want to waste the squash...). I found a recipe here. It sounded easy and tasty, also, it got so many positive reviews. I had to try it.

Mmmm... It turned out good. It was so yummy.

I tweaked the recipe a little, instead of cutting it small and boil it, I cut the squash in half and baked it. Also, I used sour cream instead of cream cheese, because I didn't have any. The soup was very thick. I think I am going to make it slightly runnier next time, but I loved the taste.

It is getting cold, what have you been cooking in your kitchen lately?

Link Party 29 and Family Trip

I have been working on a couple of jewelries lately, but I haven’t gotten around to taking pictures of them. I promise; it’s coming soon! Meanwhile, I am going to share some of the pictures from out family trip from a couple weeks ago.

Bryce Canyon… It was so pretty. I have seen it before, but it was still breath taking.


Pretty acorns… looking at them and the gigantic rocks & squirrels made me think of the movie “Ice Age” (have you seen that movie? It is one of our family’s favorites and very funny too).


I was thinking that; (maybe somewhere in this canyon, a squirrel is trying to squeeze an acorn between rocks or something. Then, that would cause the rocks to tumble down the mountain… uh, I hope they don’t fall on us…)

I know that’s silly, but sometimes my mind works that way. Call it a childlike imagination; you will understand when you watch the movie…

The trees were so pretty I had to ask my husband to stop the car so I can take the picture.


This is from one of tne of the viewpoints. The air was so clear and crisp we all enjoyed getting out and exploring a little. Well, we still stayed in the safety range. :) (I was thinking about the TV show “Man vs Wild”… would I be able to survive if I were stuck out here all by myself?…The answer: “No”.


On the way home, I saw this beautiful sky with clouds.


On day 1, we went to the Goblin Valley. I took many great pictures. The next morning, I accidently erased them all! I was so disappointed that it took me a while to recover from that. (until I was stuffed from the breakfast).

I have been spending a lot of time with my family, and with all the activity going on right now I'm just real busy, but I want to get back into creating more soon. Fabric stash, yarn, beads and all the other stuff is calling out to me!

Ok, I know you have something under your sleeve, don’t be shy and share with us!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


<br /><a href="http://tearosehome.blogspot.com"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462799092490427250" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9CFJR6Te5CpNgHYGsz2oQcSPEa7ev57prQmm-wO7bU5-IXOUTAJV08BvA-pbdpS2QCr864re5ljtzEGNU20emgmsiG0eSXBf9nArpxdnE1SRy7EGrrnSSMYTt3mS2C3S9d6A8bRk7E/s200/GrabButtonLinkParty.jpg" /></a><br />

Link Love No 28!

Before I start the link love post, I have a little announcement to make! CSN Stores contacted me again to give me another opportunity to do a giveaway for Tea Rose Home readers! I will do the giveaway in the next few months... Meanwhile go check out CSN Stores which has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from contemporary coffee tables to home decor to cookware! :)

For this week's link love...I had a hard time choosing the top five among so many great ideas and tutorials. Although I couldn't leave comments on most of the links (Sorry! But Michael's birthday party is a success and it is over :) ) I appreciate all of your links!

The first one... take a look at this cutely shaped pouch! I love her fabric choice, and it looks so cute & useful. Innocentia shared a great tutorial on her blog.


Leafy Treetop Spot shared Men's shirt to women's dress tutorial. What she did was pretty amazing and the end result is very nice.


I love this crocheted pouch. Chez Mukweto used puff stitch and created this makeup/coin pouch. She lined it with fabric, so you do not need to worry about stretching the crocheted part. So stylish and fun!


GlueSticks seems to always have creative ideas. This time she shared a "Root Beer Sampler" gift idea! I know many "root beer lovers" including my family. This will make an inexpensive and fun Christmas gift for family and friends! Thank you for sharing. :)


The last one... When I clicked on her link, I just said "wow...". Can't Stop Making Things created this very artful "twisted bats" which was inspired by Paul Villinski. I would love to have this on my wall, great job!


It is already the last week of October (can you believe it?!), are you all ready for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas? Me? I am not, but let's enjoy the seasons as they come and go.:) I will see you at the next post!

Tutorial ~ Fall & Winter Earrings ~

A few posts ago, I shared a couple pictures of jewelery that I made, and several people wanted to know how I did it.

Well, I am not a pro at this, I just wanted to make something for myself to wear and started playing with beads a couple years ago. Eventhough my first love is sewing, I very much enjoy jewelry making too. I don't know all the correct names for all the parts, and I don't know if I can explain how I did it either. But, I will do my best.

I have been wanting to make some earrings for the fall. When we took the family trip last week, I saw a few pretty brown acorns on branches in the canyon. That inspire me to make these.

{You will need}---for one set of earrings


some head pins, and eye pins
2 earring wires
4 bead caps
2 large pearls
2 medium pearls
2 fire-polished crystals
8 small pearls(4 light color/ 4 dark color)
For the tools... you will need roundnose pliers and a wire cutter.


{How to}

1. On a head pin, string bead caps and large pearl. Bend the wire, cut the wire about 3/8" and using roundnose pliers, make the loop.

2. Using the same method on step 1, make all the parts necessary.


3. Connect the large pearl with the bead caps, fire-polished crystal, and medium pearl. Attach the small pearls between the bigger beads. Use the pictures as a guide.


4. Time to enjoy!



I am working on some more jewelry, once I spread everything out, lots of design ideas flooded my mind. It is so fun to coordinate different beads and parts to create something totally different from each other.

In November, I am planning the "Thanksgiving Giveaway" again this year. One of the jewely might be one of the giveaway items... :) What do you think?

Link Party No. 28 and a Little Bit About Mommyhood

Michael had a birthday. We are going to have his big birthday party with his friends this weekend, but I wanted to do something small as a family on his birthday... at his request, I made rice krispy treats and we had hand rolled sushi for dinner, which is everyones favorite.


How did he get so big, so fast? We are busy everyday and the weeks go by so quickly. There are many things I want to teach him. I try to tell and show him how much I love him as much I can in a day. I make sure his needs are met. But you know what? A part of me always feels like I fall short. I feel like there is so much more I could do. Do you ever think that way?

I enjoy watching them grow. I celebrate their birthdays with joy and with a little sentiment. Am I a good mother? Are they happy? I hope they will grow up to be nice decent people. I hope they will have lots of happy memories to take with them when they leave home.

I am at a stage that I tell other mothers with toddlers to enjoy their time, they grow up so fast. On the other hand, I LOVE to listen to people who are raising teenagers. I am trying to get as much advice and ideas I can get (I am literally taking memos) and prepare myself before they enter that stage...

Mommyhood if not easy, but definately rewarding. I was watching Michael stuffing his mouth with rice krispy treats and he looked like a chipmunk... That made me laugh, simple things happen in our everyday life, it keeps me a grounded person, and makes me happy.

Happy birth day Michael, thank you for choosing me as your mommy.

Ok, everyone, my sewing project for today was to sew all the badges to the boys' scouts uniform and hem their scout pants. I don't think I need to post those pictures on here. Although, I would loove to see your creations!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


<br /><a href="http://tearosehome.blogspot.com"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462799092490427250" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9CFJR6Te5CpNgHYGsz2oQcSPEa7ev57prQmm-wO7bU5-IXOUTAJV08BvA-pbdpS2QCr864re5ljtzEGNU20emgmsiG0eSXBf9nArpxdnE1SRy7EGrrnSSMYTt3mS2C3S9d6A8bRk7E/s200/GrabButtonLinkParty.jpg" /></a><br />

Link Love 27!

Hi all! My family and I have been out of town for the weekend to do a small family trip. The kids were out of school for fall break and we thought that it would be a perfect opportunity to take them to see southern Utah, Bryce Canyon, Zion National park and Goblin Valley.

Well, needless to say, we had a great time! The weather was perfect, and kids enjoyed exploring the area. Sometimes they were more excited about finding geckos, crickets, spiders and squirrels that they found more than the majestic views. Oh well, we all had a blast. :)

I tried to update my post, but I forgot to charge my camera, and the first hotel we stayed at had a horrible internet connection. Ough!

Thank you for linking up to my party again, I enjoyed going through the list.
Here are my picks for this week.

I love this shawl The Student Knitter created. Isn't it so beautiful? The gray she chose and the knitting design give this shawl a light and airy look. Very pretty!


If you have been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that I have a thing for the color white. I love love white. To me white is peaceful, clean, and a serene color. Anyways... When I saw this pumpkin patch 612 Riverside created, my jaw dropped. They are so unique and pretty! I would love to go to a pumpkin patch if they are all like this one! :)


Leafy Treetop Spot made this really pretty skirt for the fall. I love the fullness of it, the skirt looks lovely on her.


You have to check this out! This beautiful Ballard knockoff Table was created by Flamingo Toes. I LOVE LOVE the stencil design she did, I would LOVE to have a table like this in my living room. Did I say "LOVE" enough?


I have seen many shoes makeovers, but this one caught my eye! Posh Pilar successfully put together the polka dot with flowers in different colors and I can't get over how cute this looks. Great job!


Thanks again every one, hopefully I can get my act together and post my tutorials soon. Have a great week!

Technical Difficulties

Hi Everyone! I am having technical problems and can't post what I have planned to post.I am so sorry! Although, there is something I need to tell you, I am working on a tutorial for making earrings.

I shared a couple of the jewelries that I made a few posts ago. After that, I received many comments and emails to share how I did it.

I am not a pro at this, and I am pretty sure that you can find some great tutorials in blogland, but I have decided to share my version of how to make them.

So come back to see my earring making tutorial next week. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Link Party No.27 and Star of the Week Poster

My usual routine...get up, send everybody off, clean, do some laundry, start cooking for dinner, go pick up my kindergartener, come home and eat lunch, help her with her homework, read(with her), clean and cook some more if there is anytime left. Go pick up the boys, come home, help them with their homework, take them to their activities (everyday except Friday and Saturday), come home, eat dinner, and jump in to the bedtime routine. Phew...

If I need to or want to do something besides all of that, I have to be really organized and creative in order to squeeze something else in to my schedule. One of the things I wanted (and had) to find time to do was to make a "Star of the week poster" for Rachel. I should have planned better, but I didn't so it was done at the last minute, I was running around the house like crazy trying to find stuff to create this.


I used to scrapbook, but I haven't done it for such a long time. I haven't kept up with the latest "cute stuff" in the scrapbooking world. Although, I am liking this banner that I created...


We don't take news paper, but I wanted the "effect", so I copied a few dictionary pages and cut them into triangles. Then, I took shoe polish cream and lightly smeared it on the paper to make them look a little worn out.

Rachel loved her poster. Making stuff like this doesn't seem that important, but watching her smiling face saying, "Thank you mommy!" sure made me feel like I accomplished something big. :)

Now is the time to share your creations with everybody!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


<br /><a href="http://tearosehome.blogspot.com"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462799092490427250" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9CFJR6Te5CpNgHYGsz2oQcSPEa7ev57prQmm-wO7bU5-IXOUTAJV08BvA-pbdpS2QCr864re5ljtzEGNU20emgmsiG0eSXBf9nArpxdnE1SRy7EGrrnSSMYTt3mS2C3S9d6A8bRk7E/s200/GrabButtonLinkParty.jpg" /></a><br />

Link Love No. 26!

Hey Everyone! Are you enjoying the new fall weather? Where I live, I can see the mountains changing colors. I prefer the cold weather to hot weather and right now it's the perfect season. I've been wanting to stay home more to clean and organize before the holidays. While the progress on my projects has been slow, you guys have been busy creating wonderful things! I have picked for this week:

Wonderlanding made this cute caramel cap. The design of the hat is multi-purpose and I love the pink headband like stipe.


Check this out!!! Can't Stop Making Things made this simple, yet amazing decor out of hardware cloth and wire. I so totally want to make this!


I love this sweater makeover. The fabric My Closet Thrift Store chose for the trim matches the sweater so nicely. Great Job!!


H is for Handmade shares her infinity scarf tutorial. It is a simple project but how she coordinates the scarf with a whole outfit shows off her great sense of style.


I WANT THIS... Just Between Friends made this ribbon holder with a small budget. I have tons of ribbons (a couple of years ago I went to American Craft Warehouse sale and got a bunch of them for a great deal.). This will help me to organize the spools nicely.


Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas, talents, and creations!

Whip up Guest Post

You might be wondering when I am going to do another re-fashion tutorial...

A while ago, Whip up asked me to be a guest blogger for her blog and I accepted the offer gladly!

You can find my newest refashion tutorial at Whip Up. Head over and say hi, I hope you enjoy it!

CSN Store Review

I want to say "THANK YOU" to all of you who left kind well wishes and shared your own car accident experiences with us. I know, we were so lucky that we were ok... you know that means, I get to do more blogging! :)

I have been given the opportunity to do review for CSN store, go to my sponsor's page and check out what I have decided to review. I am pretty excited about this!

Link Party No 26!

Hi everyone, before I start this week's link party, let me tell you what happened to me yesterday...

As usual, I picked up my boys, ran some errands, and was on the way home driving down the street. On Monday, the kids don't have any activities to go to, and it is our family night. I prepared a special Japanese dish for dinner; all I needed was to go home, help with their homework while I deep fried the main dish. There was a red light, and everyone was slowing down including myself and I was about to stop... then,


BANG!!!

Our car was hit from behind.

For a second, I didn't know what had just happened, and then I realized that I got rear-ended. I was shaking, but my mind was racing thinking about what I am supposed to do. I looked in the rearview mirror; all my kids were shocked but seemed ok.

I called the police, and my husband. I was still shaky...Phew...ok, what's next.
At first my reaction to the accident was shock then to scared, after I made sure the kids were ok, the next emotion that came to me was anger. It was a brand new VAN we just bought!!!
I was ready to get out the car and talk to the driver who just hit me, oh... I was thinking he is going to get it.

I got out of the car, and I saw, a boy walking towards my direction. He seemed anywhere from 16 to 18 years old.

I could tell he was stressed and upset about what happened, and he said,
"I am so sorry..."

He was all apologetic and honest about it. He told me that he stepped on the brake but couldn't stop in time. After that he said sorry several times.

Right after his first "I am sorry" my attitude changed. I felt bad for him.
He will probably get in trouble for this and his insurance will go up too. (I feel for the parents).

Besides, someday my kids will start driving, and things like this might happen. How do I want people to treat my kids? Especially when no one is seriously hurt and the boy is feeling so bad about the whole thing. I believe in Karma. If he was my child I want people to treat him fairly.
I swallowed the words that filled my mouth (the ones that he was going to get; don't worry, no swear words were involved. I had my kids in the car too; I don't wanna scar them for life. They would talk about this time after time "the day my mommy lost it").

Eventually, the police came and we took care of the paper work. My husband came, the boy’s parents came. You know what? The boy’s parents were very nice people too.
His father came to us and apologized couple times after he saw the damage on our minivan and said "We will make this right; we will take care of this".

Wow... how nice is that? People would say, you shouldn't apologize after a car accident, because that is admitting that you are at fault. You might get sued for lots of money.

Not them. I felt like the "Sorry" was very sincere, and came from bottom of their hearts. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we are all that way?

It was unfortunate that the accident happened, but I felt like I witnessed something rare and beautiful that moment.

Side note: After the accident, we end up going to an emergency room, for my neck pain and headache. They did a CT-scan on me, and an x-ray on Michael which made him feel all important. Also, the kids were so excited about visiting the ER (we sometimes watch, "Untold Stories of the ER" they thought that it is so cool to be at the ER themselves) :)

Our family night was a lot more eventful than I planned. Before I went to bed, I was thinking how blessed we were. Everyone is ok, and we are able to go to bed under the same roof.

Ok, everyone, that was the end of the story. Show me what you got for this week’s link party!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.


<br /><a href="http://tearosehome.blogspot.com"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462799092490427250" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 160px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtc9CFJR6Te5CpNgHYGsz2oQcSPEa7ev57prQmm-wO7bU5-IXOUTAJV08BvA-pbdpS2QCr864re5ljtzEGNU20emgmsiG0eSXBf9nArpxdnE1SRy7EGrrnSSMYTt3mS2C3S9d6A8bRk7E/s200/GrabButtonLinkParty.jpg" /></a><br />