A Confession of the Sole

So, today I have a confession I'm not sure I can even bring myself to share.  Even my best friends do not know this about me!  I sincerely fear once they do know - they will question whether or not they wish to remain my friends.  

OK, so here goes:

(I'm hiding my face as I write)

I wear lavender socks!

I know you are thinking - "Yeah, so?"........

.......but here is the thing.......

I wear them everyday!!!

If I am wearing a red/black top, jeans and black boots - I am wearing lavender socks.

If I have on my brown pencil skirt with high heeled suede boots - Yep!  Lavender socks.

Sweats and workout shoes.......Mmm Hmm.......lavender socks.

Isn't that a little weird?  

What on earth would possess me to do that?

Well, here is the thing:  It has nothing to do with The Lavender Tub, but everything to do with comfort.

You see, I have this thing about tags in my clothes, sleeping on wrinkles when I'm in bed, and socks whose seams hurt my feet.  I seem to be really sensitive to these nuisances.  In my defense, I have a sister who suffers greatly with fibromyalgia and can barely tolerate anything that puts pressure on her skin.  Our mother must have had issues with this too, for she cut the tags from all of our clothes.

Anyhow, at least 8 years ago we made a trip to South Carolina to visit family.  On one of our shopping excursions I found a pile of socks without seams on a clearance bin.  Now mind you, they were expensive socks and I was absolutely delighted to find them at such a great price.  Problem:  the only color left was lavender.

Because I am a woman who loves beauty, but values comfort even more - I purchased 8 pair of the silky cotton, seamless, lavender socks to wear when doing activities that are tough on my feet - like working out.  What has occurred over time, however, is that when I go to my drawer full of different colors and styles of socks - if I know that no one will be seeing my socks - I grab the lavender ones every time.

Which brings me to

Desire #2 of The Lavender Tub:  to be a blog about beauty, but not at the expense of comfort and daily living.  I see so many pictures in decorating medias where, for example, a sofa or bed is filled with gorgeous pillows.  It makes a lovely picture, but in real life it creates an environment where others do not feel comfortable for fear of "messing up" the pretty still life that has been created.  While I hope to share pretty scenes and decorating ideas in this blog - I also want to strive to make sure they work in a live family.

I realize this was probably more than you really wanted to know about me.  I have no doubt I will not be able to get away with wearing lavender socks as much as I did now that my secret is out.  (My poor friends - they still have to claim me!)

Thanks for stopping by.  Just kick your shoes off at the door and come on in, unless........perhaps you have a quirky secret too!

Ellie

Loving Lavender In A Duck Egg Blue World

Hi Lavendears! 


I've missed you sooo much and can't wait to hop back into The Tub and start Splashin'!


I decided a fun way to relaunch The Lavender Tub Blog would be to start with a few confessions:

First of all,

Edward.......

(my amazing and lovely husband whose name is not really Edward [OK, another confession] but I call him this because he really is like Jane Austen's Edward Ferrars you read about in Sense and Sensibility)

                     .......did not buy me the House of The Lavender Tub for our anniversary as I lead you to believe here.  

In fact, until I took writer's license and fabricated that story - it had never crossed his mind - nor mine.  We did take possession of it about the time of our 9th anniversary, but our anniversary was not given a single thought when we purchased the house.  Furthermore, when we found this house Edward was quite turned off by the dated lavender bathroom and thought we should keep looking.

  What?!!!  Gasp!!!  I know, right!

After some desperate begging on my part, Edward agreed to overlook the out-of-style room and vowed that he would never use it, thus I could do with it as I wished!  

OH, YES, YES, YES and HAVE I EVER!!!  

So the fact that lavender was not in style then, and is not in style now - really doesn't matter.  What matters is you can find beauty is what you choose to find beauty in whether the rest of the world is on board or not.  If you enjoy Goldenrod, Avocado and Turquoise together - don't let anyone take that from you - we don't all need a Duck Egg Blue and Espresso Brown room to be happy.  And while my Edward isn't going to be featured in the February issue of Romantic Spouses - I live knowing that this man would lay down his life for me and will always give me the best he has to offer. 

Desire #1 of The Lavender Tub:   to be a blog about finding beauty and contentment in what you have and what you can make of what you have.

Thanks for stopping by!  I can't even tell you how excited I am that you are here.

Please join me tomorrow for a confession that's a little on the quirky side....what can I say.

Ellie

:(

Alas.......my heart is here, but I can't seem to be.

My head is bursting with ideas, but the time is not right.

Hope you understand.

Ellie

Necklace Charm

Here is a fun, tailor-made gift idea for a friend or family member.

 I recently went to a craft show in our area and splurged on this necklace and earring set.  It was designed to hang a charm from, and I knew exactly what charm was needed.

First, I printed very small pictures of Pistol Pete -  THE mascot for the Oklahoma State Cowboys - onto card stock.  I actually ran the card stock through the printer - twice - to get a nice vibrant color.

Then, I painted clear nail polish over the entire design, front and back, and let it dry.  I learned to do this through error, for my first two attempts failed due to ink that ran.  

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.  

COMPLETELY SEAL YOUR DESIGN OR THE INK WILL RUN.

Next, I poured a very small amount of this product 

into the bottom of this bezel - and placed my cut out design on top.

Using E6000 glue, I attached small strips of rhinestones around the perimeter of the inside of the bezel.  It is best to glue these in place before using the dimensional medium, otherwise the rhinestones tend to fall over.

Finally, I dripped more of the Mod Podge into the bezel, completely covering the design, but not the rhinestones.  Allow this to dry for 12-24 hours.

Imagine what fun necklaces you can make that reflect your loved ones' personalities.  I know I would love something so personal.

OK, COWBOYS!  I'LL PROUDLY BE WEARING MY BLING TOMORROW!  

LET'S ADD ONE MORE WIN TO THE SEASON!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie

All of these products can be purchased at Hobby Lobby.  The total cost of this charm is probably about $2 by taking advantage of the sales at Hobby Lobby.

Parties I Will Be Linking To:

Sunday - The Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming, DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff   

Monday - Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy, Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday - Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife,  

Wednesday - Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, 

Thursday - Open House Party at No Minimalist Here,   Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Friday - Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello 

Christmas Craft Tutorial Link-up Party at The Project Queen

Glass Candle Gift

This candle idea is nothing new if you've been around Blogland at all.  By simply gluing some type of container onto a candlestick, you get a nice, yet inexpensive, hurricane glass container to fill with all sorts of fun things.

 

I have not seen this exact model out there, although surely it has to be.  To make my version, pick up these candle holders at the Dollar Tree ($1 each)

and glue them onto a glass candlesticks using E6000 glue.  

The one pictured here is also from the Dollar Tree ($1 each)

I prefer to find candlesticks at garage sales, because they are actually much nicer and run between . 50-$1 each.  

 I really, really like the size and shape of this candleholder.

I have a set on the top of my piano and just 

change the decor with the season.

Giving a pair makes a wonderful gift........

.......but an even lovelier gift is to put together 

several little bags of fillers.......

.......take pictures of the various designs you've come up with.......

and give a little photo book of ideas with the candleholders.

Your non-crafty friends will appreciate the extra thought.

Hopefully the pictures throughout this post

will give you lots of ideas to try.

The concavity of the jar allows a wreath to stay put

just by bending the wire form in a bit.

This wreath wouldn't stay up, 

so a touch of hot glue holds it in place.

I'm using a glade candle inside of mine

The shape of the candle 

matches the shape of the jar.

Aren't they elegant for just a few bucks?!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie

Parties I Will Be Linking To:

Sunday - The Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming, DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff   

Monday - Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy, Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday - Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife,  

Wednesday - Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, 

Thursday - Open House Party at No Minimalist Here,   Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Friday - Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello   


Christmas Craft Tutorial Link-up Party at The Project Queen

The Gift of Reading

One of the greatest gifts in the world.......is reading.  

For 10 years, I had the privilege of homeschooling my kids and 

Oh, the books we have read!  

It's hard for me to think of what makes a great gift 
without thinking of books.

So, I thought I'd share a series of books we discovered during our homeschooling years.  This series is exciting, inspiring, life changing, and very enjoyable to read together as a family.  

The first book you should try - to see if you like the series is:

I promise, you will not be able to put this book down.

All of the books in this series are excellent.  

I've included pictures of our top 5.

The book titles I'm listing in this post are of Christian missionaries, but the company who publishes them also publishes an equally fascinating series on 
Heroes of American History.

You can check out their web-site here:

I have no connection with this company except for purchasing their books.  I simply wanted to share with you what a wonderful gift I believe these books would make.  Even though you're not making them and you will spend some money on this gift (6.99 each), you will get tremendous "Bang for Your Buck."

And if you read them with someone else - 

What a Gift!


Thanks for stopping by,


Ellie

My View From the Tub - Christmas Gifts

Do you have your gift list READY?

OK

     SET .....

Actually, hold on for one minute........

Before you jump into to all the craziness that leads up to

CHRISTMAS

Would you take just a couple of minutes to watch this video

Perhaps this water project isn't

where your passion lies.

This happens to be one of mine, but I am also

passionate about stopping

Human Trafficking 

and 

Providing Blankets for

Impoverished People

In 

North Africa

and

Giving to People

Who Have Lost Their Jobs.

Over the next several days, I'll be sharing

some gift ideas and some gifts that have

meant the most to me.

I sincerely hope you will share ideas back.

The value of a handmade gift is 

undervalued in our culture.

Let's change that!

If we really want to Occupy

This Christmas,

Let's give a little less to the 

Big Companies with all the Gadgets,

And a little more to the 80%


Who live on less than $10/day.

These are just 

My Views From the Tub 

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie