Tim Allen, a favorite Santa, Tool Man, & Toy Story Character, returns to TV !

I have always liked Tim Allen as... Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor in the popular family sitcom Home Improvement. It was a great show on ABC from 1991 to 1999! My, it was a major part of our 90's - airing for eight seasons.

By the way, for the first time - All 8 Seasons of Home Improvement are available on DVD in 1 Collection! (Yeah! I know all the Tool Men in my family will be excited by that.) Plus, the collection, pictured to the right, comes in a very cool Toolbox Design! (click on pic or here for details!)

Tim has also been a very popular Santa Claus - playing Santa - Scott Calvin in all three Santa Clause Movies.... 1,2, & 3! I love them all - but the first is still my favorite!

And, of course, he is the ever popular voice of Buzz Lightyear in all three Toy Story Movies!

Now, Tim Allen returns to TV - to his original Home Improvement Network - ABC, in a new comedy sitcom titled: Last Man Standing.

Here are some details from the official site:

Last Man Standing -

Today it's a woman's world, and this man's man is on a mission to get men back to their rightful place in society.

Tim Allen returns to ABC in this new comedy from Jack Burditt (30 Rock). Men may have built civilizations, invented the locomotive and created ESPN, but they're about to find out that it's not a man's world anymore. You can't get manlier than Mike Baxter. He's the marketing director for an iconic outdoor sporting goods store, he loves to have adventures while he's traveling for work and, of course, he drives a pick-up truck. While Mike is king of the hill at work, he's the odd man out in a home that is dominated by women -- namely his wife, Vanessa, and their three daughters, 22- year-old Kristin, 17-year-old Mandy and 14-year-old Eve. After being a stay-at-home mom for years, Vanessa recently returned to the workplace and was quickly promoted (much to the dismay of her primarily male co-workers). As a result of Vanessa's increased work load, Mike is pulled into more hands-on parenting than ever before.


CAST:

• Tim Allen as Tim
• Nancy Travis as Vanessa
• Molly Ephraim as Mandy
• Alexandra Krosney as Kristin
• Kaitlyn Dever as Eve
• Hector Elizondo as Ed

I'm hoping this will be a great new family sitcom, because along with good male 'fatherly' role models on TV, family sitcoms seem to be nearly extinct!

I like the overall concept of the show, too - I think it's great to have a good Father Figure and a Man who is a Strong Manly 'Truck Driving' sort of Man! Makes me kind of want to do a Tool Man Grunt... "ARGH ARGH ARGH!"

*Last Man Standing Premieres on ABC in the Fall of this year, 2011.

Ribbon and Wrapping Paper

Check this out!

Do you have a lot of ribbon? This idea is great for organizing ribbon of all sizes, texture and color! I've been looking for a solution to the madness of ribbon and tissue paper.

The best part, it's so easy to make! I found it HERE -33 Shades Of Green! It's nice that you can use a frame that works well with your space.

I hope this is useful for you as well!

Deck The Halls Of Home With Joy

Welcome friends....As many of you know, this blog started out as "just for fun" Christmas inspiration. Happily, it has evolved into a place of friendship, laughter, inspiration, expression of creativity, crafting and more.

Thank you for following along! I have met so many wonderful friends! I hope you all feel welcome here and know your friendship is heartfelt.

Welcome to a favorite room in my home~the Dining Room. Like most families, we spend many special occasions, celebrations and Holiday dinners in this room. I am a mother of six- four are boys! I love having a formal dining room where my boys can see, feel and appreciate a sense of beauty. (A Mom can only try and I do try!).

I've alwys been inspired by the window treatments in the Armstrong Mansion (My Great Great Grandparents home-Francis and Isabel Armstrong.) Today it's a beautiful Bed and Breakfast Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah. A great place to celebrate an Anniversary!
My Dining Room has three large windows in front of the house that face south. When we were celebrating our first Thanksgiving a few years ago in our new home. I wanted our room to feel inviting. I also wanted it to be somewhat formal. I kept thinking of the Armstrong Windows.


I started dressing up the windows in fall colors and fall textures, they are my favorite colors to work with. I was decorating for Fall, but loved the colors so much they have stayed through all seasons.




1. I started with a grapevine swag that I placed horizontally above the shutters. The grapevine is anchored to drapery hooks.

2. I draped fabric (56" wide) 8-9 yards of brown textured fabric weaving in and out of the grapevine.

3. I embellished the brown fabric and grapevine with fall garland beads

4, Next, I Added a twist of ribbon to help secure and hold the garland into place. I may add sheer or textured fabrics to the sides of the windows for a more formal look.


Enjoy!
I'm joining Creations by Kara!

SEW HAPPY!

"Sew Happy" to be finished! Welcome Back! I have completed the sewing room organization mission. The pantry and mudroom are next! Wish me luck there! You can find the dress forms at TaiPan Trading, Quilted Bear, and Hobby Lobby!

Here is the layout of my sewing room/laundry room. I have a small island in the middle that separates the sewing room and laundry room. I use the island for cutting all my fabrics. My favorite corner of the world.

When I designed my Laundry/Sewing Room-I wanted space for my daughters to sew and create along with me. The counter space works well when it is not covered in fabric! My little daughter loves to sit at the counter and do her Kindergarten homework! She usually has her crayons and all her art supplies sitting on the counter.

I made chairs covers in sewing notions fabric. I made my window treatments to match. This is where my colors started for this room!

I've added more baskets and containers. I have taken a lot of my scrap book containers that I don't use anymore-thanks to digital scrap booking and simplicity of project life! I painted the containers black and created cubes for fat quarters, charm packs etc. I've taken the drawers and painted the fronts with chalkboard paint for patterns that I use a lot.

I love unique baskets and fabric lined baskets along with crates! The small bottles work well for all the little stuff like snaps, needles, rotary cutter blades, etc. I found the bottles at The Dollar store last week! The Crates are from Mormon Handicraft from my shopping travels a few years ago when it was temporarily located by the Zoo, my other home(ha ha)!

Do you ever feel like organizing is like putting together a 5000 piece puzzle?

I LOVE these baskets, they are simple and practical! They make look familiar. Yes, they are from Walmart. I added Chalkboard Vinyl fabric for the labels. I can easily change the labels for new fabrics! Of course, I needed a little bit of polka dots to add some cuteness! I love that they are off white and simple, I can use them other places.

The top black basket is for new fabrics or for fabrics that need to be put away-Kind of like papers to be filed!

I am still working on the green baskets in the cupboard. The labels are temporary. I want to do chalkboard paint for labeling. The baskets hold accessories like Velcro, elastic, trims, embellishments, and 1000 other little things.
I have two large drawers for storing ribbon in the same green baskets. I have a few baskets for ribbon scraps that I use a lot! The rolls are organized by color, pattern etc.

Enjoy a Creative and Happy day!

Thanks to Tip Junkie, she is sharing Teacher gifts. Today, she is highlighting a few of my Teacher Appreciation gifts-- created right here in my sewing room!

Cheers to Teachers!

Sew--Let's Get Organized!

Welcome To my Sewing Room!

I've taken on new Energy and Top Priority to the madness of my sewing room!
I can actually see the floor and the counter tops! Amazing! My kids say- "It's a miracle!"

I recruited five great helpers(my children) who have been out on Spring Break. My 15 year old son put together shelves for me. I love them, they are working great!

I have sufficient cupboards and storage space. I just needed to re-evaluate the space and the items filling the space. The shelves help to organize my fabrics that I use frequently. I can see colors, shapes, patterns and easily coordinate fabrics! My favorite storage containers are the chalkboard crates. I found them at JoAnn's several months ago. I have taken other containers using chalkboard paint to do the same thing.

My favorite project was organizing all my buttons onto this magnet board. The little metal containers are from Michaels. I glued magnets on the back. I love seeing the colors and shapes readily available at my fingertips!

I'm still not finished. More to come! I found this article on organization. It has helped me!
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Too much on your to-do list? The key to staying organized is developing good habits that will last for life; but when your lists get unmanageable it's easy to backslide. If you consistently find yourself tackling clutter, it's time to rethink your getting organized system. (Article from Karen Ussery-expert organizer).

What do I need to have a place for?
Does it need to be within arm's reach, or can it be put away?
What supplies will help me stay organized?
How can I label clearly so I remember the organizers' functions?
Is this the easiest way, or is there a simpler way to do the same thing?
Do I like the way my system looks and functions?
How will I remind myself to use my new system until it becomes a habit?

Have A Happy Bright Sunshiny Day!