I was an elementary school teacher for 37 years.  I loved being in the classroom.  The daily interaction with young minds was energizing and fueled my creative fire.  Every day was new and different and it was never, ever dull.  I have so many fond memories of my time in the classroom.  That saying, "My head (and heart) is full of children," just about sums up my career in education.  Reaching and expanding young minds was my passion, and in retirement, I am entering "Act Two".  I have focused my energies on our home, gardening, and all things creative.  I have sewn since I was a young girl.  I learned to cook earning my Girl Scout badges and cooking with my mom in the kitchen.  Today, I quilt, sew, knit some, garden, dabble in the kitchen, and home decor.  Some of the principles I incorporate in home decor are the same I used in my classroom and in life in general.  I like to use things that I have at hand, whether they be from nature, or my stash of stuff, or the God given talents of my husband, myself, or creative friends.  I like to use things in unexpected and unique ways.  I like to display and use things from "our collections" every day and all around the house.  When something presents itself and is beyond my means, I like to figure out how I can "get the look" for less.  My husband is fond of saying, "She goes shopping for ideas."  I want our home to be a warm and welcoming place for our family, friends, and us. We like the simple lines and beautiful woods of the mission and Shaker styles.  I am definitely attracted to the coziness of the farmhouse style and French country.  A friend once visited our home.  She looked around and tried to decipher our style.  She concluded it was "cottage style".  If that means come on in, sit down, and make yourself at home--then cottage style it is!  Our home is a modest size and we feel so fortunate to have woods bordering our backyard.  Friends have encouraged me to share some of the things I do to make our house a home.  I hope you'll enjoy the journey of "Our Welcoming Home."
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Meet my two best guys:  my husband Bob and Tucker.  Bob is an artist and has his own website.  You can view his photography, prints, and oil paintings at http://www.robertjonesart.com/.  You'll be seeing some of his artwork in our home and he helps me with many projects.  (Tucker, not so much, but Tucker always adds the cuteness factor.)

Our logo is from an original oil painting of Bobs.  It is one of my favorites and I was thrilled when he suggested we use it for our site.

Meet Tucker, our fuzzy, little dog. He has his own ​sense of design and definition of "cozy and welcoming." His idea of cozy is to have at least a half a dozen fuzzy men toys scattered about the place.
Tucker and me having a heart to heart. We "talk" about many things, from what to have for dinner, how to solve problems, or why he shouldn't stand on tables in the house.
When Bob and I were choosing the name for our website, we wanted to select a name thet was a reflection of us.  We've always wanted our home to be a welcoming haven.  We want our guests and family to immediately experience a sense of coziness.  One friend upon visiting our home, looked around and mused about "our style".  She concluded it was cottage style.  Mm-m-m-m-m---maybe!?  We like to think of it as a little Arts and Crafts, a little rustic, a little Shaker style, some modern farmhouse, and a whole lot, "come in, sit down, and relax!"  We always want guests to feel welcome to our little house in the woods.  Thus, "Our Welcoming Home" was born and we'd like to share some of the things we like about our home and how we achieve them.  I am proud to say that we don't usually spend a lot of money on our decorating, but we do find treasures.  Secondly, we like to use things we have. We live in our home. We have a big TV above the fireplace.  Don't be surprised to see a fuzzy man dog toy of Tuckers, our bichon/maltese mix, in the photos.  He does think our life and home is all about him. We want our home to be a reflection of us and things that make us happy. ​
Meet Tucker, our fuzzy, little dog. He has his own ​sense of design and definition of "cozy and welcoming." His idea of cozy is to have at least a half a dozen fuzzy men toys scattered about the place.
Tucker and me having a heart to heart. We "talk" about many things, from what to have for dinner, how to solve problems, or why he shouldn't stand on tables in the house.

Welcome to Our Home!
I Have Been Having "Sew" Much Fun!
Read to Me Pillows or Once a Teacher... Always a Teacher!
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I have retired from teaching in 2016, after 37 years of teaching elementary children.  It was a big step, as I have always enjoyed teaching.  Every day brought something new and the life was never dull! (So many stories...so little time!)  I have been spending time with some of my other passions:  sewing, quilting, crafting, and came upon my stash of left over fabrics from the many baby quilts I had made for colleagues and family members.  I love the Eric Carle fabrics and Ian Falconer's Olivia is one of my all time favorite story book characters.  

I began to play around with my scraps and came up with the "Read to Me" pillow book.  The idea is that this is a pillow for a "young and aspiring reader" to own and cherish.  Each pillow has at least one large pocket for storing a book or two and secure handle.  I used the colorful fabrics from the Eric Carle licensed fabric line and the Olivia fabrics from Andover Fabrics.  Here are the results of some of my "playing."

One thing led to another, and my husband and I decided to open an Etsy Store featuring some of the things we like to create.  I plan to add more pillows as the mood and inspiration strikes me.  I wanted the pillows to be durable and able to withstand much love and use.  Each pillow has a zipper in the back for easy removal of the pillow insert and washing.  I stitched and tripled stitched possible stress areas, such as around the handles.  Then, each side is quilted with fusible batting for added softness.  After all, it's all about the good feeling a child gets from being read a good book.  ​​





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​This is the front side of one in a series I call "The Very Hungry" Read to Me Pillow.  I was inspired by the Eric Carle licensed fabric.  This is an adorable collection and I am so glad that the art of Eric Carle is available in fabric.  
This is the back side of one of "The Very Hungry" Read to Me Pillows.  You'll note that the fabric is inspired directly from Eric Carle's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
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This blog is a personal blog written and edited by Jolene Hanig-Jones and Bob Jones, authors of Our Welcoming Home.  Unless otherwise noted, we are the legal copyright holders of the materials and photos posted on this blog.  No more than ONE or TWO of our photos may be used by other blogs, without our consent, and they MUST link back to our site:  www.ourwelcominghome.com.  You may NOT use any of the tutorials or projects without my consent.  Please contact us if you would like us to guest post on your blog.  For questions about this blog, please contact Jolene at email:  ourwelcominghome@gmail.com.

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