Beansie Babbles

Wool-Eater Wednesday

2012-02-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

Sarah London is hosting a Wool Eater Crochet-Along, and today's the day to post our progress. According to the number I read on the Flicker website, as of today, there are 458 members... My gosh, just imagine all those afghans!!

I started a little later than most of the other participants, I think; but I'm almost caught up now, being only one round behind the basic crochet-along schedule that is set up. Each round, in this case, actually means two rounds of crocheted stitches, where 2 rounds are typically done in one color, then the next round is done in two rounds of another color... Got that? If you look closely at the rounds and color patterns in the photo, you probably get the gist!

If you remember from a previous post, I mentioned how I was treating this almost like a diary/journaled, mood-of-the-day type of project; one in which I would just crochet a color, and another color, and the next, so on and so forth, according to my mood, or some specific event/occasion going on at the time. Well, I'll try to briefly explain my color scheme so far:

Rounds One and Two: I'd read it was a color of balance, order, and safety from fears and anxieties, while it also symbolizes growth, so it seemed to me that green was a fitting color to begin with!
Rounds Three and Four: Soon after I had just started this afghan, I heard that Etta James had passed away. My own personal favorite song by her is "Misty Blue", so for the next two rounds, I went with blues; one dark blue, and one a misty shade of blue.
Round Five: Next, Dear Daughter and I were off to a big Bridal Show event, and I had never been to one before! It was quite an event, and so my next color was a white, in honor of my daughter and all the brides to be that day!
Rounds Six and Seven: Next came Chinese New Year, and having read a little bit about that, I found that red and gold were traditional colors when celebrating this event; hence the next two rounds of color.
Rounds Eight and Nine: Soon thereafter, I remember a big jewelry event on one of the shopping channels, on t.v... There were many items made with turquoise, and oh, how I'd love to have a pretty turquoise ring someday! The necklaces and bracelets were all so pretty too!... so where the afghan was concerned, I was in the mood for turquoise!
Round Ten: The next round of white comes from a blanket of snow I woke up to one morning. It was pretty, but it didn't last long.... which actually made it all the prettier to me!... Hence the next round of white!
Rounds Eleven and Twelve: As I was crocheting this round of snowy white, I really had no color set in mind to do next. This is, after all, a fly by the seat of my pants project!... All I know, though, is I was so comfortable and cozy, working on this new afghan, while nearby was my little pot of tea and the empty teabag wrappers that sat nearby.... To be specific, the wrappers were purple... and there you have it! As of this morning, my afghan measures about 25" x 34".

Oh yeah... this morning... It was NOT a good one. It was pretty stressful for reasons I'm gonna try to forget. But I'm gonna let my sarcastic nature take over, and make light of all this, and I'll just refer to it as "peachy keen". Yes, that's right! How was my morning?... "My morning was just peachy!!!"...

So the next color I'll be working on tonight, with my feet up, and a big ol' smile on my face, will be peach!

Well, I'm off to make dinner now!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Tea for Chinese New Year

2012-01-24T08:44:00.000-08:00

Today is Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage, and Sandi is celebrating her second year for this weekly event!

I have not posted a Tea Time post in a while now, but not to say I haven't missed it. I enjoyed making tea, and little desserts... and setting the table just so! Upon hearing of this event, I made it a priority to get out my tea pot, and join in on sending Sandi my best wishes!

I decided to set my tea table up in the spirit of Chinese New Year! It is tradition I've read, to set out oranges, nuts, and candy, so please help yourself! I am absolutely fascinated with the holiday, reading up some on it, while on my internet travels! This is the year of the dragon... The water dragon, specifically; and while most of us in the western hemisphere might fear a dragon, the Chinese believe the dragon will provide protection and great blessings in the year ahead!

Here you see I even did a little Book of Days journal entry about it, last night as I was watching some television! I was really in a fickle mood of sorts, doing a little painting; then while waiting for a layer of paint to dry, I would quick wash my hands good and clean, so I could work on another new afghan!

I found this new Crochet-Along to make a Wool-Eater afghan, with Sarah London. Just like the Round Ripple, I have never tried the wool-eater pattern before either, so I guess I'm feeling adventurous this year! "Sign me up", I said! And just to make things interesting, I've decided to throw caution to the wind on this one, working with whatever color that might depict/symbolize whatever mood, situation, or event I find myself in at the time... Kind of like a crocheted journal of sorts!! It reminds me of the scarves that Bev did HERE!

Another little journaling project I made recently was this. It is a journal to make record of what inspires me on my travels through Blogland!!.. Hence the title, "Inspirational Souvenirs". Here I can record the beautiful things I come across, from time to time, thus saving that admiration and inspiration I felt, that little somethin' I was able to take with me from the places I've visited!

This one, again, is made simply from a black-and-white compostion book, bought at my local pharmacy! (I think they better stock up, because I'm gonna need 4 more for a swap I'm in at MAS!!) The bird on the cover was given to me, and was made from a beer can!!.. I recycled the peel off seal from a can of peanuts for the silver-colored background circle you see at the center! Kinda pretty, I think! But more of a learning tool, this book is... The idea to make this specific journal comes from Effy, who runs the Book Of Days journaling event, who mentions we can record what grabbed our attention, actually try it, and then record that! So, I intend to record all branches of art, which in my mind includes not only painting, but crochet, recipes, home decor, scrapbooking, etc., etc.... So this book will include drawings, paintings, and photos of what I've made, such as the Round Ripple Afghan I just made with Pammy Sue!

Speaking of baking.. I did recently try a new recipe for Mud Hen Bars, and it was a hit!

You can find the recipe HERE. Not a gorgeous photo I suppose, but these just came fresh out of the oven, and were still cooling. Soon after, I cut them up into bars, threw them into an airtight container, and they are almost gone already!... I think I'm going to have to make them again!

Well, I guess that about wraps up the latest around here. Dear Daughter has chosen a wedding gown, and we spent a good part of our Sunday, at a Bridal Show Event. I've never been to one before, honestly, and it was quite the experience. I'm not usually one for crowds, but it was a nice crowd, and I mostly just enjoyed the time spent with my baby girl!.. Till next time...

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

My Weekend & My Afghan!

2012-01-17T10:26:00.000-08:00

What a great 3-day holiday weekend I can honestly say we just had! (for the most part, at least!) Saturday began quietly, as I continued to gradually take down the Christmas decorations, and later I baked some homemade custard and then a broccoli-corn bread recipe I've been wanting to try. It came out good.. a nice variation for the typical plain old cornbread.

Dear Daughter came to dinner that night, after which we all watched a couple movies together... Lots of laughs and lots of fun!

Now, before I forget, I'm ashamed at how long it took me to find time to post this, but I received a tag recently from Georgie, at Puddin' n Pie! Hooray for happy mail! We were in a Tag-A-Month Swap at Creations by Tee, and this is what she was so kind, and talented, to send me!

I absolutely LOVE this gorgeous tag, celebrating 2012, in Marie Antoinette style! Thank you so much Georgie! It's beautiful!

Moving on to Sunday, it began with a bit of a snag, as I met with matter of slight disagreement with one of the other members of the congregation of our church. One certainly hopes such things wouldn't happen in a house of worship; but it simply became necessary, in my mind, and after a fair amount of time, to defend myself in the matter... Well, as I did so, as nicely as I knew how, it didn't turn out very well. What can I do but hope the matter at hand will iron itself out; and hopefully, in time, there will be no hard feelings, right?...

After leaving the church that day, Dear Daughter and I went to look for wedding gowns, and I was feeling MUCH better! Oh my gosh, were the emotions running full-throttle that day, as my baby girl looked absolutely stunning in everything she tried on! She does, in fact, have a favorite gown in mind already, but is taking some time to think about it... to shop around a little still, and consider her options.

Monday was to be my day of rest. I just put my own foot down, and was determined! "I'm going to park myself on the couch, watch the movies I bought 2 MONTHS ago and haven't YET had time to watch, maybe light a candle, and I'm going to finish my afghan!!"

Time for just plain fun and relaxation is often hard to come by, and recently, I even journaled about it in my Book of Days.

I ended up watching two Audrey Hepburn movies, "Funny Face", and "Paris When it Sizzles"; and loved them both!... and I finished my afghan!

I'm so happy with how it came out! I love the colors, but now I'm just a little perplexed on how to place it on my bed... I'm going to show a couple of photos, and if you could, any advice is welcome!

Tell me which way you think is best...

... or if perhaps, simply folded and off the bed is best? I could do that too, as I'm even wondering if the pattern and/or colors are too much for the quilt I love in the first place? Yes? No? I won't be offended, so be honest. In fact, I'm still wondering if I should paint the headboard black?.. or white? It is a quandry, so please help me out, my talented friends!!

Well, much to do around here...

And Dear Daughter is stopping by later!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Hello January 2012!

2012-01-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

What a great Christmas we had this year! Family, good food, presents.. Lots of fun that day! And would you look at what I found in my window!

Well, the photo's a little dark, I know, but I've had this plant, a Christmas cactus, that was my grandmother's, for about 10 years now. Never has it blossomed, and I had really given up hope that it ever would. Come Christmas Day, someone else pointed out to me that my plant had flowers, and I couldn't believe my eyes! Five beautiful bright pink blossoms for Christmas! It's in full bloom still this morning!

Hmmm.. If I thought that was big news, just two days later, I was asked by a wonderful young man if he had my blessings, as he would later that day be asking my sweet baby girl to marry him!... Honestly, had it even been up to me, I couldn't have possibly picked anyone better if I tried; so I said "Yes!", and off he went to ask her that evening...

...and her answer was "Yes!".

I saw this coming, eventually, but I definitely didn't have a clue when it would happen. It's hard to believe...

...when sometimes it feels like only yesterday,

that she was taking her first steps...

Or when I was dressing her up so pretty for a visit to see Santa, or the Easter Bunny!.. Or when she had to stand on a chair, at my kitchen counter, to help me stir a batch of cookie batter!.. I loved reading her stories at bedtime...

I can't help that my heart breaks just a little, and my eyes well up with tears. Here she is, taking yet another step away from her Mommy, building a life of her own. It's a bit overwhelming, but truly, I'm so very happy for her.... And if anything, this may bring us even closer together really. Already, she wants me to look at wedding gowns with her! She's so excited! Oh, call me biased, but I can't help thinking, she is just going to be the most beautiful bride ever!.. I just know it!

Well, what a way to end the year, and here we are, starting a new year! I've still got my tree up, but am gradually taking down the rest of the decorations, starting from the kitchen first. Recently Martha Stewart posted about using containers as refrigerator magnets...

and it just so happened I came across a container, at a local dollar store, that I thought would work nicely to hold my pens and pencils on a wall! But I just glued on some heavy-duty magnets, hung it up on the upper-freezer door; and my junk drawer is now all the more spacious, having removed all the loose pens and pencils that were congesting it before! It's "a good thing", right?!! I've got another little something I'll be crocheting for the kitchen, but we'll see when I can get to that. You know how I've always got a hundred things going at once! (I really need to learn how to stop that! ha! ha!)

I'm probably going to take my sweet time about taking this, our biggest tree, down just yet; but this year, I'm considering keeping one medium-sized tree up year-round, so I can decorate it for all the holidays/seasons. I've seen other people do this, and their trees look absolutely gorgeous!.. So festive and cheerful!... Something that would lift my spirits instantly, if ever I need! Take a look at the blog Debbie Dabble, and you'll see what I mean! I love the idea, and am already thinking about how I'd like to decorate my little tree for Valentine's Day.

I've started a new art journal, called my "Book of Days", an online project hosted by Effy, at Wild Precious Studio. This is going to be a great experience I think, and I'd encourage others to look into this and join in! My book is simply made from a $4.99 composition notebook, that I purchased from my local pharmacy, and here is the cover I've put together for it.

The charms I've added to the back edge/binding of the book each represent a little something...

The cross at the top represents my faith. The bell symbolizes ringing in a new year. The three hearts represent me and my kids, and how much I love my family. The key at the bottom (a car key sent to me in some junk mail!) represents progress, or moving forward. I may add more charms as the year progresses.. We'll see. The strand of beads you see alongside the charms, are of various colors and sizes, but some of them are the magazine paper beads I have fun making! (You might remember I made some for a Halloween scrapbook layout.)

Anyways, so far, we've done a few pages, but we started with two hand-written letters.

One letter was written to 2011, as if it were a person, really, stating what my best memories were, and what I was most thankful for. The second letter, on the right, was to the year 2012, introducing myself in a way, and stating what my thoughts, hopes, fears, and goals are for the year ahead! The little envelope on the bottom right of the first page holds a 2011 penny, and I've since added a few stamps to remember the year by.

Recently I made a small art supply order with Samie, at Journal Girl. Included in my package was a print of one of her own paintings! In the upper center it says, "Be brave". I love that!

I set it in a black frame, and can't wait to find the perfect place to hang it in my room! Thank you Samie!

I've joined a Tag A Month group,

over at Creations by Tee!

And here is my first tag, for the month of January... the theme being Winter fun! The little girl, on the tag, comes from recycling an old Christmas card! She was reaching for a bird, flying in the sky; but I decided to cut her out, and make it as if she was building a snowman! The tag now sets on my desk, nearby my computer!

You can see I've really tend to favor the aqua and turquoise shades of colors lately! I bought a coverlet last year, from Target, that is like a smoky shade of turquoise, and I've been gradually making things to match/coordinate with it ever since. Recently, I made myself a doily, for a bedside table, based on the pattern you can find HERE, at Scotty's Place.

Soon after, Pammy Sue was starting a brand new project, asking others to join in on a crochet-along, making a round-ripple afghan! I've never made an afghan like this before, and have always wanted to. While still not having an afghan to go with the new colors in my room, this seemed like a good time to get started on one!

So, having started mine last night, this is what I've got done so far!.. about 10 rounds, I think. The plan is to start with black, and then add various brands and shades of turquoise, alternately with black, maybe even a little white (I'm not sure) as I go along. I'm excited about it! After sometimes getting so sidetracked with scrapbooking, it's so nice to just curl up on the couch, with a t.v. show, or movie, and my hooks and yarns! With thanks to Pammy Sue for the inspiration, and for hosting the crochet-along, I really hope this will come out pretty!

Well, that's what's going on around here!

Wishing everybody a blessed

and very Happy New Year,

and thanks so much for stopping by!

Have A Cup of Cheer!

2011-12-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

While still working every minute I can these days on cookbook mini albums, I decided to break away from the papers and glues for just a couple of nights recently to bring out my hooks and yarns instead! I turned on my Christmas tree lights, and popped in a movie, and those couple of nights were the most relaxing, peaceful nights I've had in a while!... So, here's what I made!

I found the perfect shaped coffee mugs I was looking for at The Christmas Tree Shoppe! In fact, I'd like to go get more!... But I think these crocheted coffee mug cozies would be really cute Valentines Day gifts too, with the right goodies tucked inside, ya think so?!!

The pattern I followed, with minor adjustments to fit the particular-sized mugs I bought, was from Micah, at Micah Makes. This is a great pattern, very easy to follow, and quick to whip up!... Thank you Micah! With the exception of ONE, which will be MINE-ALL-MINE...

...the other four cups will be Christmas gifts!! (I just still have to get the marshmallows!)

Meanwhile, during the past month or so, I participated in a couple of Christmas Tag Swaps! Now that all the tags have been sent and received, I can finally share them with you here! For the first round of swaps, via Mini Album Scraps, I received this group of gorgeous tags...

...and honestly, the talent shown in these just amazes me!

The next round of Christmas Tags came via a swap held by Gloria, at YouTube channel craftergm.

Aren't they beautiful?!! Photos could never do them justice! Every little detail just fascinates me, every time I look at each individual work of art! Every one of all ten tags are hanging on display in my home right now, and I know my visitors will LOVE seeing them all!

Oh! I almost forgot to show my own tag! I made the same tag for both swaps, so here it is. This is the front...

You see the flower center of the fabric flower I sewed myself? It almost looks as pretty as cranberry glass, doesn't it?! Would you believe it was made out of a plastic soda bottle, and a red sharpie pen?... Well, it WAS!!

*Update: Look for how to make Pop Bottle Flowers HERE!
...And look for the fabric flower how-to HERE!

Next is the back of the tag, where I pocketed a second tag! I used the Sizzix die Key & Keyhole. Then, on the back of this tag I added a little poem about leaving the key out for Santa, just in case he needs it! (The smallest tag you see, the little red-patterned hand, just included my personal info for the recipients in the swaps.)

So, I guess that just about wraps things up today. As for my "Sally List" so far?.. I may need to run to the bank for some rolls of pennies!! Ha! Ha!.. Oh, just kidding!! Hopefully I won't need to use them all! I am full of the Christmas Spirit today, and plan to do some Christmas cookie baking!!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

and I hope this finds you and yours

enjoying the weekend!

Checking My Lists

2011-12-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

...and checking them twice, and as I do so, I'm wondering, "Am I the only one with not just ONE list, but SEVERAL to-do lists going at the same time? Are there others out there, like me, trying to keep track of them ALL?"

For example, I went to the store to shop for groceries yesterday, and I had a LIST, but did I even remember to bring it? No!!.. Well, how stupid was that?!

I've got a to-do LIST of chores and fix-it projects, but no human being could possibly tackle it all! Well, if I was smarter, I'd figure out SOME way to do it!

I've got a LIST of Christmas gifts I'd LIKE to make, but I can't work that fast. I'll never get it all done! And will anyone even like what I make anyways?

Did I forget anyone on my Christmas card LIST? I can't remember anything.. Wasn't there someone else, I meant to write a card for? Who was it again?!... I fumble around for the box of cards on a table that is nearly buried with projects, lists, and clutter as it is; and like an avalanche everything shifts, slides, and tumbles into a bigger mess all over the floor. I swear, I'm the poster child for the saying "haste makes waste"!!! What is the matter with me?!.. Uh-oh, here it comes.. What a flip-floppin'-fricken-frackin' idiot I am!!

Oh Lord, please forgive me for that.

And finally, before I go to bed, as I kick my feet up, and try to unwind from whatever kind of day I've just had, I try to record, in either my Gratitude Journal or my Junque Journal, a LIST of things that I am grateful for on this particular day... Hmmm.. Is it any wonder why I need to?!

Well, recently I came across a list, over at My Place to Yours. It was there that I found "The Sally List".
I've always been a big fan of The Peanuts, so Sally definitely caught my eye from the sidebar of another blog I was reading at the time.

Notice Sally proclaiming, "I've decided to try to be a better person... But not right away of course. Maybe a few days from now."

The idea is to make a list of things we'd like to do, but procrastinate about. How many ways could I become a better person? What can I do for myself, and what can I do for others?...

And THEN I'm thinking, "Oh no! Not ANOTHER list!!" I think my house is going to bust open at the seams, for all the lists I've got going as it IS!!

But then I thought, maybe this list really IS a good idea, and why not?!... I think I can manage to squeeze this one in... So, off the cuff, here it is...

1. I am MUCH too hard on myself. As I kid, I constantly heard criticism, left, right, up, down, always something wrong about one thing or another. One thing I remember is that constantly, if not daily, I was told I had a "brain like a sieve"...   which I guess explains to some degree why I feel I should need so many lists all over my house!   But let's just say, even if I DID have "a brain like a sieve"... Was it necessary to say such a thing to a CHILD?!..   And what was I supposed to think, hearing that all the time? Just look at the things I say to myself today! I've highlighted them all in red. They are things I say to myself daily... so much so, that I really don't want to admit how many times a day! Perhaps I don't even realize how much, but I do feel like it's gotten worse in time; and I do feel as though I need to kick that habit to the curb!

While I'm all grown up now, and understand that maybe I'm not so bad as that; how do those hurtful words still affect me today?..   Young parents out there.. If there was one piece of advice I could share with you, it would be to watch what you say to your child. It can hurt MUCH deeper than you think! FIND the good in them, and help them to believe it!

O.K., that said....   Onto the rest of the list....

2. I would like to do more for my church. Oftentimes, I feel like I don't have the money, or I don't have the time, or I don't have the leadership skills.. Whatever the case may be, perhaps it is possible that I could come up with more reasons for why I CAN, than why I CAN'T?

3. I would like to weed out SOME of the clutter from my house. Not ALL of it, because seriously, most of my clutter is very important to me! But I could be better at letting some of it go... either into the garbage or to Good Will. I ~~think~~... I KNOW I will be less stressed with less clutter!

4. I would like to be better at forgiveness. Time seems to heal all wounds, but it's the amount of time that is the issue. I think I could be better at maybe forgiving a little sooner than I do. Forgetting can be even worse, but please... One thing at a time!

So, what to do now?.. I feel the most urgent issue on the list is number one. So I decided to make myself a jar... Kind of like the cuss jar we've all heard about.

When I say or feel something critical or bad about myself, I plan to pop a penny in the jar. "A PENNY?!", you may ask?.... Well, YES, a penny!! I'm not Oprah, ya know!! I KNOW how critical I am of myself, and I KNOW I only have so much money to put in there.... especially at Christmas time! But just you watch. I'll post again in about a week, and I'll show you just how full, if not overflowing this jar IS. I'll bet it won't be pretty, but I hope it will be honest, and clearer to myself how much I may need to control/repair my emotions and/or ways of thinking.... probably to the point where I'll be sick of throwing pennies into that jar! I may as well just leave the cap OFF, right?!!

BUT, in time maybe I'll start catching myself... Maybe I'll learn to go a little easier on myself, and through that, maybe I'll remember to think a little more positively? Maybe if I don't have anything nice to say, even to MYSELF, then I won't say anything at all? We'll see, I guess!... In the meantime, is there a Sally List you might want to make yourself? This could be just the simple baby step you need in the right direction!

So-ooo, IF you're still with me here, then God bless you!

I've still got some crafts to share, but maybe tomorrow!

Thank you for stopping by,

and for the kind ear you've lent me today!

Now go hug your kids!

Snowman Assembled

2011-12-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

...and reporting for Journal Duty, Sir!

Just recently, I saw a really cute little snowman, over at Audrey Pettit's Weblog, and I thought he was so darn cute, I didn't waste a minute, scampering around my house, gathering up my materials to make one for myself! Originally, I was going to make one to decorate a basket or shelf somewhere, but then as I was making it, I remembered I hadn't yet made a cover for my Winter Junque/Art Journal. I loved the way Audrey did her scarf with ribbon and a pleated rosette, but I decided I wanted an element of crochet on my snowman, and so I proceed to crochet him a scarf!

The first page of my journal has pockets to store various images, papers, etc, that I think I may want to work with...

and much like my other two journals, the right side of this layout will be my introductory page of sorts. Isn't the paper beautiful? It's from an Elizabeth Brownd, K&Company line of Christmas paper. I won it in a giveaway, and I am having so much fun with it. I'm sure I'll have plenty to still use next year too! (Thank you so much Sue!)

The next two pages, ready for journaling and photos, are inspired by two individual sources.

First my colors are inspired by an "artful color play" prompt at Whimspirations: Artful Musings By Joanne Sharpe. Here she suggested making a journal background page using just the colors blue, green, and purple. Of course, can I follow directions? Not really thinking, I threw in some WHITE snowflakes, but I'm happy with it still! My second inspiration for the layout of the two pages comes from Sketchy Thursdays. The entire layout is done using acrylic paints, chunky stamps, a Crafter's Workshop stencil, dark and light purple colored papers, lace, index cards for journaling or photo placement, and a couple of plastic snowflake embellies.

Next, I want to show a couple of ATC cards... Little works of art/craft, made for trading, much like trading baseball cards! I was recently in a swap, hosted by Creations By Tee- The Altered Paper Crafts. I received a package from my swap partner yesterday, and here's what Kelly, from Dreaming of Vintage, sent me!

Here's the very pretty Christmas ATC she made,

and then the little pocket she sent it in!

She sent me various other scrappy little goodies along with it, and I loved it all; so thank you again Kelly!

Here's the card I then sent to my swap partner, Mercedes... I'm hoping she got it by now, having sent it out on the 5th!!

I hope she likes her ATC, along with the goodies I sent with it! I thought the little girl in the image was so sweet, and I just loved the colors!

Next, I wanted to share why you shouldn't throw away that makeup catalog quite so quickly. I made myself a Christmas tree with mine!

Then my daughter saw it, and wanted me to make her one too! Done easily in front of the t.v. some night, all you have to do when you're done is maybe add some glitter, or maybe a star for the top. I haven't gotten around to that part yet, but I just think it's really cute recycling project that anyone can do! If you'd like, HERE'S a great source that shows you how to make one!

Finally, you might remember from my previous post that I made some cinnamon ornaments? Well, I couldn't stop there, could I?!!

Measuring at about 13" across, I made this gingerbread man wreath, and I just LOVE it! Perfect for decorating my country Christmas kitchen! Here I have the glue holding the bow onto it still drying; but this was very easy to do, and you can find how to make one yourself RIGHT HERE!

So much to still do, so I'm off and running!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

'Tis The Season 2B Busy!

2011-12-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

Fa-La-La-La-La....

La.. La..... La........... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yes, that about sums it up for me, around here, lately! Every day flies by in a blur, and when my head hits that pillow at the end of the day, I am OUT FOR THE COUNT, in no time flat!... But aside from the usual hustle and bustle, I am determined to make time and room for all the decorating, baking, traditions and good cheer that comes with the Christmas season!

Of course, just to catch up here, first I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was very nice! I just thought I'd share this photo of our cat, Tuffy....

who, when every time I opened the door, was VERY

interested in that "pretty bird" sitting in my refrigerator!!!

Well, we had our dinner around 4:00, or so, and the turkey cooked up beautifully this year! I was so proud of myself, my daughter is still laughing about it! We sat ourselves down, ready to eat, truly blessed and grateful for a table, full of so many delicious goodies of all sorts! We said grace, and filled our plates, warm dishes, and salt-n-peppers, being passed this way and that. Everything seemed perfect, like straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting...

It just might have been nice if I had remembered to make one of the most traditional staples on a Thanksgiving table... the STUFFING!!

Halfway through the meal, I realized I never even made the stuffing! Oh well... Nobody left the table hungry by any means, right?

Actually, to be perfectly honest, I made bacon and eggs, but I forgot the hashbrowns for our big breakfast that morning too!

(Sigh) I really worry myself sometimes; but perhaps everything that had to be done was just a little overwhelming, you think? Maybe I didn't have enough coffee? Hmmm... Let me think. Maybe I should've remembered to take my vitamins?? Maybe I should have made a to-do list the full size of my refrigerator door, so I couldn't miss it?! Maybe we should have ate out???...

Oh, NO WAY! Who cares about hash browns, or one little ol' bowl of stuffing?!! Home cookin' will always be the best, right?!... And NOT because of the ingredients you put in, but because of the LOVE you put in, and who you're sharing it WITH! Yes, I like that! THAT sounds right to me!

So-oooo, we put our tree up on that following Saturday, the 26th! Both kids were here to help, and I couldn't have enjoyed myself more! In fact, the kids made note that I even strung up the lights without saying so much as one naughty word!

"Are you kidding?!", you ask?.. No, it's the truth!! The lights are my LEAST favorite job to do, when putting up the tree; but I'm happy to say, not one penny was placed in the cuss jar for this event! Not this year! And our tree looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL! My Christmas spirit is fast on the rise!

Little by little, I'm decorating the rest of the house. A couple weeks ago, I made some snowflakes. I want to glitter them up a bit, maybe just 'round the centers, and then I can decide where to hang them. I'm thinking I might make more, but then I start feeling like Buddy, the Elf, who strings them all over the store, and the apartment! So funny, but still very Christmas-sy!!! It might be fun!

These snowflakes are made with empty, painted kitchen paper towel rolls, some pipe cleaners (or "chenille stems"... whichever you want to call them)... and some pony beads! I know it's not in the cards yet, but I'm thinking this could be a very fun project to make with the grandbabies I'm dreaming of someday!!

Next, just yesterday, I whipped up a batch of cinnamon ornaments! They're so fast and easy to do. Even Dear Son stepped in and made a few! He really missed not being able to lick the bowl, though! Not with the smidgeon of GLUE in this recipe, he'd better not!

The recipe(s) for these kind of ornaments can be found all over the internet, but I'm not sure I've found one I'm commited to by any means. Just google it, and you'll find a good number of variations. Which is the best way, I'm not sure yet, but I think these came out nice enough! They'll be pretty with some red and green ribbons, I think... maybe some little buttons or jingle bells... And my kitchen smells SO-ooooo GOOD right now!

I plan on making more cookies each weekend... Edible ones, of course, for Christmas cookie assortments, I hope to share!.. But my biggest project going right now, is a group of recipe books I'm making. One is for myself (and then Dear Son can have it someday), one is a gift for Dear Daughter (who requested one in the first place, and I was so happy to oblige!)... and then one is for a friend of mine! These will be a LOT of work, but I'm encouraged that I have the basic structure of each one put together already! I think I will probably move on to filling the pages, before I go attaching the covers on just yet.

I'm just gathering up all my materials, tools, recipes, images, and favorite quotes, hoping I have enough of everything, and I can move ahead, at least a little bit at a time, on each of them, each night! Let's just REALLY hope they're done BEFORE Christmas Eve, right?!!... I can do this!

Well, that's it for today. I hope this finds everybody enjoying the holiday season! I can't believe the unseasonably warm weather we're having here, but I'm still dreaming of a white Christmas; if not outside the house, then IN the house, right?!.. Lots and lots of paper snowflakes! (Here's where I'm smiling! "Smiling's my favorite"!!)

Thanks so much for stopping by,

and enjoy your weekend, everybody!

Let the Games Begin!

2011-11-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

I LOVE the holidays!!.. But the days before? Well, it's just non-stop busy, between cooking, cleaning, and setting things up to be just right. So, after my morning cup of coffee, and a quick bowl of cereal, I just roll up my sleeves and say "Let the games begin!"

I baked some spice cookies a couple of days ahead. Dear Son loves these, and it's a good thing I've put some aside in the freezer for both Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Yesterday afternoon, I did some extra cleaning 'round the house. I even planned ahead, and pulled out all my "bigger pants", because let's face it. There's just no denying, I'm gonna need them for at least the full week ahead, because I don't plan on counting calories tomorrow! NOPE! No way!...

Well, then, last night, as I finally kicked my feet up, and watched a little t.v., I finished putting together the basic form of a Thanksgiving mini album.

I'll fill it with photos and embellies after the holiday, of course, but I had fun putting it together, such as it is for the moment!

As for today, so far, I've cooked up my eggs, for deviled eggs, I've made a lemon meringue pie, and now have to run a quick errand... to the store, of course! I have two more pies I want to make, and then I may even try to whip up a couple of casserole-type side dishes ahead, either later this afternoon, or this evening, we'll see... A busy, busy, busy day this is, but it's a very NICE kinda busy!!

So I just wanted to take this small break to say how thankful I am for every friend that stops by my little blog, to see what's going on, maybe find inspiration in something I've made, or just to say "hi"... And I am definitely inspired by all your crafting, crocheting, baking, home decorating projects, etc., etc., etc.!!! Blogland continues to be a pleasant escape, and a wonderful blessing to me, and I'm grateful to know you all!

Wishing a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a day late, and I should be saying Happy November.. or something like that; but I had absolutely NO time to post yesterday, so... well, here I am today!

First, I just want to share a couple of pictures.

Here's one of our pumpkin!

He's a little more lopsided than I thought, we we first purchased him, but we had lots of fun carving a face for our jack-o-lantern, nonetheless! When all lit up, he definitely added to the spirit of the holiday!

Next.... Well, every year, I make a bunny cake for Easter, right?.. I thought this year, I'll make a black cat cake for Halloween!! (You can too, right HERE!)

He's not very scary looking, by any means... But I think he came out cute! What do you think? Should I make this a new tradition, and make another, when next Halloween rolls around?!

Finally, I wanted to share the Halloween TP mini album,

that I made for 2011. There's just no easier way to

show it, than by way of video... so here goes!

We really had a great Halloween, altogther, this year! The day before, Dear Daughter came over, and we made our traditional Great Pumpkin Cookies, and we watched a Halloween movie together!! During the actual holiday, on the 31st, we took the dog for a walk, and got to see several trick-or-treaters already out and about, so CUTE, and the weather was perfect!!

That night, Dear Son and I lit up our pumpkin, set out all our own candy and goodies, ready for when Monday Night Football came on! Perfect!... Yum-yum-yum-yum-yum!!! (Calories?.. I'm NOT gonna think about'em! Nope! No way!)

Thanks for stopping by today, and hope

you all had a fun-filled, very Happy Halloween!

Meet My Cousin It!

2011-10-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a little somethin' I put together

for a swap I was in at Blissful ATC Swap.

October's theme was Halloween monsters.

I had a little difficulty deciding what monster I wanted to go with, at first, but then I thought out of the box, just a little, realizing my monster doesn't have to be scary, right?

My swap partner, Victoria, has received her card, so now I'd like to post this in conjunction with a new Wednesday event...

Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge!

I'm afraid the technique I resorted to felt a little unethical... totally out of character for me... I mean, to do something like this to a doll...

You all know how much I love my dolls! Honest!.. I felt really bad about it, but I needed her hair for my ATC card!

I decided I wanted to make Cousin It for my movie monster. Surely everyone knows him from the t.v. show, movies, even cartoon, all based on The Addams Family!

Here you see the back of my card, where you find Margaret Alford, played by Dana Ivey, dancing with Cousin It, at a celebration held in honor of Uncle Fester.

The hand has my "handmade" information on the back, but I thought it was especially fitting for this card also because of the character "Thing" in the movie! It's made using a Crafter's Workshop "Henna Hands" 6x6 template, designed by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.

So, yeah!.... I'm very happy with how my ATC card turned out. It was really fun to put together!

Oh, but my poor doll, right? It wasn't much fun for her, was it? Well, don't you worry about her. I did my best to make amends, and she seems to have forgiven me...

I made her a new funky-punky little Halloween outfit, and I think she looks better now, than when I pulled her out the dollar-store cellophane bag in the first place!

I crocheted her newsboy-styled hat (brim flipped up in 1st photo, and brim positioned back down in second photo)... AND I crocheted her skirt. Her top is made of black grosgrain ribbon. Her shoes were originally royal blue, but I "sharpie-d" them black. I used black and orange permanent ink pens to make her striped arm warmers, then I just "goth-ed" up her face a bit! (No piercings.. I just couldn't do it to her!)

So-oooo... What else have I been up to?

Well, I've been very busy with home-schooling, but Dear Son and I like to take the dog for walks, while we can, while the weather is still kind enough to allow such a privilege. One night we came across this sweet little find, sitting roadside, abandoned, just tossed atop of a garbage can... (Gasp!)

Apparently the house was for sale, and not opting to hold a garage sale, the family was just cleaning up and throwing out!.. Well, I grabbed it, and heavy as it was, I walked it ALL THE WAY HOME!

Dear Son helped carry the painting, titled "Before The Mirror", for me. Later I, of course, had to rearrange my entire bedroom to FIT my new-found treasures, but I love them both!

Inside my new Crosley record player was an album, The Best of The Ink Spots, already in place and ready to play!

Oh, and with it also came two collections of Glen Miller. Yes, our arms were full on the walk home, and yes, Glen's a little before my time, but I have many moods and tastes for music, and I can appreciate Glen Miller, just as much as any of the current stuff there is! I love ALL kinds of music!... Just look at these jackets on the two collections!

Like hardcover books! You don't see them like this anymore!

Anyways, THAT turned out to be a fun "walk"!!... One other fun thing we did recently was to go apple picking! The weather was perfect, like Indian Summer!.. A few days later, Dear Daughter asked me to show her how to make Apple Crisp...

...so we had fun whipping up a couple batches together! (Actually, these are gone already, and I'm hoping to make MORE!)

Special thanks to Wendy, at Blissful ATC Swap, and to Jenn, at Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge Blog, and to Vanessa, at A Fanciful Twist,

for hosting her 2011 Halloween Party (for which I am a little late showing up for, and I hope she'll forgive me)... Thanks to all for hosting these fun events! I hope you'll check them all out!.. And then, big thanks and hugs to all my visitors for stopping by to see me!! Have a great day!

My Own Cat In A Hat

2011-09-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today, to share "What's On My Easel".

I've always loved drawing, ever since I was a kid, but life took its course, and somewhere soon after my high school years, I lost confidence, and I lost touch with it. But since trying my hand at scrapbooking, that in turn lead me to junk-journaling, which then lead to mixed media and art journaling. So, whether it's a scrapbook layout I'm working on, or a painting I'm feeling inspired to start, it oftentimes starts with a drawing.

It feels good to draw again, when I find the time to. Most often, this is sometime later in the evening, after dinner.... maybe while watching some t.v... Being an ex-smoker, I really appreciate having something to do with my hands. Even though I may already feel relaxed just kicking my feet up for the night, I still need something to do with my hands... Anyways, I think I like my drawing better than the painting, but hey... I'm just learning here!

(The brick background comes from using a

Crafter's Workshop "brick" template.)

I'm just getting a feel for acrylic paints.. how to mix and blend them, how much to load my brush and not load my brush, and remembering how fast acrylic paints dry as you blend and shade, TRYING to create a the tiniest spec of dimension! Oh, and remember, there's no erasing here. You can try to paint over a mistake, but you can't erase it... A little scary, but I want to learn! I like to think, at least I've got style, and at least I'm having fun with it!

So, what do you think? Should I pursue this interest, or stick to drawing?.. Maybe go back to crocheting? Ha! Ha!... Well, you KNOW I like to do it all! But how about YOU? Do you think it's something you'd like to try? It never has to be anything fancy; and it's YOUR art, which means it can be as simple or as elaborate as YOU want it to be. You can keep it to yourself, as private as you want, or be ~~dumb~~ brave, like me, and share it with EVERYBODY! The important thing is just to enjoy it! Have fun with it!

Each week, The Artistic Biker shares his ideas, paintings, journals, and even music, as he travels his own artistic journey. You can find him on his YouTube channel, or at his blog, The Artistic Biker.

Thanks to all for visiting today!

Remembering Jim

2011-09-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

O.K... I admit I didn't know him personally, let alone on any first name basis, but I feel like Jim Henson was probably the kind of guy who would have much preferred "Jim" over "Mr. Henson".

From my youngest memories of Sesame Street, to the latest productions still made in his name, I've ALWAYS been a big fan!

And as you can see, that tends to show up in some of the crafts (or recipes, LOL!) I've made, and then shared with you here!

Of course, while I may be a bigger kid at heart than most people might be, I still hope that my visitors see the fun in it, and that my enthusiasm and antics still at least cause them to smile!

I think people can act any way they want on the outside, for the sake of appearances, and/or due to the grown up responsibilities that tend to dominate and overshadow what's really still alive deep down in all our hearts; so I believe Jim Henson had it right when he said...

"The most sophisticated people I know...

Inside they're all children."

"My hope still is to leave the world a little better

than when I got here."

(James Maury Henson, Sept. 24, 1936 - May 16, 1990)

Today would have been Jim Henson's 75th birthday, if he were still with us today; but in my heart and mind, it's still his birthday in Heaven, and I hope they're celebrating big!

So in fond remembrance, from the big girl now,

who's definitely still a "kid inside",
this one's especially for you! Happy Birthday Jim!

Come to the Cabernet

2011-09-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

During the weekdays, time is such a crunch, jam-packed with so many things to do; but for this evening, I'm going to try to catch up and share some of the highlights of the past week.

First, we did our weekly grocery shopping... Nothing so exciting about that, I know, but I was happy to find these two movies in the bargain bin while we were there!

Unfortunately, I have not YET had the chance to watch them, but soon, I hope! We were much too busy this weekend! The kids and I went to a fair on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous.. We ran into family and friends while we were there, and I came home with all kinds of goodies from the tables there, full of used and antique items up for sale!

Same deal on Sunday.. I put down my crocheting, my scrapbooking, and broom, "Old Chum", and off we went to a big Wine Testing Festival! I don't suppose I need to say how much fun that was! While we were there, there were free apples, a car show, a quilt show, a haunted house, a craft fair, live entertainment, etc., etc., etc.! Here is a picture of a Mama Chicken and her babies we met as we toured the grounds!.. Of course, I HAD to take a picture of them!!

Oh, and who could this be here, peeking through that apple?

Can you see?... Look close!

There were several areas set up specifically for taking photos, so I figured my hair and makeup were done.. Why not?!

Beyond all the sites and exhibits, we finally made our way to the wine tasting fest! Special tickets and wristbands were being distributed at the entrance, and the line was long! But the wait wasn't so bad as it looked. (I've suffered way worse lines just waiting to pay for my groceries at Walmart!).. Anyways, I've never been to anything like this before, so I was excited!

There were tables, and displays, inside and outside, with bartenders pouring up the goods at every one! We made the rounds, table to table, tasting all kinds of wines and cheeses! What an awesome time we had! The weather was nice, the people were friendly. By the end of it all, I finally chose a little somethin' to take home with me! It called to me.. Come to the Cabernet.. Buy me. Take me home!

(Hence the title of this post!.. Cute, huh?!)

So now, let me see... focusing back home again.... Since I last posted, it was nice to find the mailman had brought me some more happy mail! In one package I received the New Moon tags, from the Twilight tag swap group I'm in, at Mini Album Scraps!

The one on the bottom left is the one I made, with an excerpt from the book on the back; but oh my gosh, just look at the ones that other participating "Twi-hards" sent me! Photos could never do these tags justice. They are absolutely beautiful!... This swap is so much FUN!! Next up, we'll be working on our Eclipse tags!

Now this next package I got was from a potholder swap I was in, hosted by Faith, at Crochet By The Sea. I forgot to take a photo of the potholder I sent, but I'm making another, so I'll show that sometime soon, hopefully. Here's the one I received from Mary, at Here's Home.

I LOVE this little crocheted dress potholder! Done in crochet thread, it's absolutely darling, and Mary did a beautiful job making this! Thank you Mary! ((Big Hugs!))

Well, as I wind this rather lengthy post up, and I hope you're still with me here... This week's tag challenge at Blog Challenge Garden, was "Recycle The Trash"! With all the fun we had this weekend, I made my tag in remembrance of the Wine Fest!

The tag itself is cut out from a cereal box. Part of the paper is from a wine/price list handed out by one of the vendors at the fest. The other part of the background paper is from the dyed paper towels I've mentioned in a previous post. The hole reinforcement and bottom border are made from corrugated cardboard, from a coffee-on-the-go. I added an old wine bottle cork by first taking a thin slice for the center of my dryer-sheet flower, then I cut the rest of the cork in half and glued it onto the tag. I added a piece of that plastic non-slip netting they include with your wine bottle, when you purchase it. I used old pages from a book for the leaves on the flower. And finally, the wine glass, the grapes/wine inside the glass, and the little "blingies" along the top and left sides, are all cut out from an empty, washed-and-dried grape Kool-Aid Jammers drink pouch! Oh, and that tie at the top?.. That's a tie, recycled from an old bathing suit, that for some reason.. ahem.. seems to have shrunk in the wash this year... NOT too happy about that, but life is too short to sweat the small stuff, right?! Like the song says...

"Start by admitting

from cradle to tomb

isn't that long a stay.

Life is a Cabaret old chum,

only a Cabaret old chum,

and I love a Cabaret!"

Thanks so much to Rebecca for hosting the tag challenge every week at Blog Challenge Garden!

And another big thanks to all for stopping by today!

Tags, Pins and Pie, Oh My!

2011-09-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

I don't know why or how, but I've been seriously sidetracked from one of my favorite Blogland events lately... that being Tag Tuesday...

...hosted by Rebecca, at Blog Challenge Garden. This week's theme is a flower pot! Well, as I am just beginning my Fall Junque Journal, I thought a Fall-looking flower would be best, so here's what I came up with.

I love making flowers by recycling dryer sheets! After my laundry is washed and dried, and as I begin my ironing, I save all the dryer sheets I've used, and then I use them AGAIN! One sheet makes two flowers for me. I color them in various ways, depending upon what color I want. Sometimes I die them in tea overnight. Sometimes I use ink/glimmer sprays of whatever sort or brand. In this case I colored my flower in Candy Apple Red glimmer mist, then coated it with Red Distress Stickles. I played with various buttons, but for a Fall look, the two-toned brown button looked best to me. I cut out the pot myself, by hand.

I thought this tag would look cute in a window kind of setting, so here it is, as I set up my next junque journal page. Each window pane will be a spot for journaling what's happening 'round our house for the week.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive some "Happy Mail" today! Diana, a friend from YouTube, sent me a set of stick pins, after I won a giveaway she was hosting! As my morning did not start out as well as I would have liked, this package... all the way from Australia...

..along with some of my own homemade coffee cake...

...both certainly made up for what ailed me at the time!

Inside was this little pouch Diana made herself... And inside the pouch were these three very beautiful stick pins, which she also made herself!

I was so happy to receive this! It really made my day! You should check out her YouTube channel, dianadiana1262, if you're interested in learning how to make various hand-crafted items like what you see here! Thank you so much, Diana!

Well, our session of home-schooling is done for the day.

It's not easy readjusting from those lazy days of Summer, back to a full routine of daily lessons, but both Dear Son and I are off to a very good start!

I'm so happy to be firing up the oven again too, now that the weather is cooling down. I'm looking forward to apple picking, making homemade apple pies, and baking all kinds of homemade goodies again! Dear Daughter wants me to show her how to make homemade apple crisp sometime soon! But my first pie, for the season, was the chicken pot pie I made for dinner last night! Delicious! We'll be polishing off this plate tonight, I'm sure! Mmmmm.. I think I'll start making some biscuits to go with it!

Thanks so much to Rebecca for hosting Tag Tuesday,

and thanks to everybody for visiting with me today!

Remembrance and Joy

2011-09-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some scrapbooking, and in remembrance of Sept 11, 2001, I gathered up all my reds, whites, and blues.

And of course, when you look back in remembrance of heroes and lost loved ones, flowers are customary. Here's a red, white, and denim blue lollipop flower I made.

Scrapbooking is a very creative and relaxing outlet for me, and I felt compelled to scrap and journal about the 10th anniversary of 9-11. I clipped and saved articles I found from our local newspapers.

Of course, I feel a terrible sadness when looking back, and seeing the images on t.v. again; but I also find joy, and pride, in remembering how our nation pulled together like I've never seen before, and like I hope we'll never forget.

As we move into the new week ahead of us, and upon finishing what responsibilities Mondays typically require of me, and of Dear Son...

we will find one of our greatest joys, when tuning into Monday Night Football tonight! We are very happy to see the new season begin, and yes, WE ARE READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!

Be sure to visit Faith, at Crochet By The Sea,

to see what simple joys she shares today!

August In A Flash

2011-08-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, WHERE does the time go?! I just love Summer, and getting out of the house, and enjoying the great outdoors while we can! I'm missing all my blogging friends a great deal, though, and hoping everyone is doing well and that you're all enjoying your Summer as well!

In the last week or so, we've experienced both an earthquake, and then a hurricane! We don't usually experience anything like either such event in our neck of the woods, so August has certainly left its mark, leaving us with a few extra memories we won't soon, if ever, forget! We had a lot of old trees and branches come down around here, after all was said and done, but today the issue is flooding, and whatever remains to be seen will all happen this afternoon. I think we're clear enough from it, but they say that this will be the worst since sometime in the early 1900s!

Anyways, in my spare time, when either the chores are done, or the moon and the stars have coaxed us back into the house for the day, I've still been getting a little crocheting in, but I've also been working on what's called a "junk journal"! It's a type a scrapbook that's the latest craze in this line of art-and-crafting, and I have just had so much fun with it!! I loved working from page to page, a little at a time.. picking it up, and putting it down, day to day, which is what made it a perfect summer-time project! As it would be much too difficult to show in any other manner, here it is on video, if you'd like to see it. It's done in a bit of a rush, as YouTube allows just 15 minutes per video, so I just showed as much as I could!..

Hard to believe this gorgeous season is already on its way out, but I look forward to Fall, with all its colorful splendor, and all the sights and experiences it will bring!.. And I'm pretty sure I'll soon be working on my next junk journal!.. This time for Autumn!... This kind of thing is a simple, but wonderful joy to me.

Be sure to check out Faith's blog, Crochet By The Sea,

to see her Simple Joy for today!

Thanks so much for visiting with me today!

Summertime Swaps

2011-07-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

O.K.. If you've got the time, grab yourself a cup of coffee, tea, a soda... whatever you choose, because this is going to be a while! I've been busy, which is why I haven't posted in a while, and I've got a lot to share today...

To begin, I'll start with the Summertime Matchbox Swap, hosted by Debi, for the Bloggerette Sorority!

My swap partner for the event was Cathy, at A Surcee Life. Cathy told me she loved the ocean, the beach, and her favorite colors were blue and greens. I made two matchboxes... Cathy got the hat with the green ribbon, and the hat with the turquoise ribbon is for me!

I have to thank cynthialoowho for her tutorial for making your own matchboxes! Next, I used the Boundary Waters border punch for the sides. I cut up a washcloth to make miniature beach towels.

I had the little wide brim hats in my stash, as well as the little sunglasses (once upon a time, barrettes!), the beads, shells, candies, etc., that I thought were just perfect for a beach towel set up! I really had fun putting these together! Cathy was quicker than I was, though, and I received her matchbox first. Isn't it sweet?!!

I love the color pink she used, and the beautiful paper flowers that set on top! She sent all kinds of goodies with it...

including the cutest little pin, that she made herself, out of a watch piece! See it, with the little bow, and pink gem stone dangling on the right side of it? So pretty, and unique, I can't wait to wear it!... Maybe to church this coming Sunday!... Oh, and look at the bottom of the little drawer!

How CUTE is THAT?! Cathy, thank you so much! I LOVE everything you sent!

Another swap I was in, was a crochet pincushion swap that Tamara hosted, at her blog, Crochet With Tamara! I had fun opening up this package when I got it! Tamara crocheted the little red pair of shoes, and her friend Susie sent the beautiful flower pincushion with the little strawberry that dangles from the center!

You can see all the beautiful goodies that came with everything, and I know I'm going to make good use of all the laces and buttons! Thanks to both Tamara and Susie! The pincushions you sent are beautiful!... I must add though, that the little red shoes that Tamara made, sure look like RUBY SLIPPERS to me!!

See where I proudly display them? Perfect!

Well, now for the pincushions I made for Tamara and Susie. I remember when I was a little girl, I loved a pincushion a little girlfriend down the street had. Someone had made one for her, and she proudly displayed it in her room, with her favorite necklaces draped over it.. It was so pretty, I thought. As I learned to crochet not long thereafter, I tried, at a young age, to make one like it. But I was not successful. It didn't come out right, and I don't know whatever happened to it. I imagine it was thrown away. So for Tamara's swap, I knew I was up to trying one, or actually THREE, again!

I was pretty happy with how they came out this time around! I actually had a tough time finding a pattern for these; but if you're interested, then get ready to recycle those tuna fish cans! I finally found a great pattern right HERE!

Tamara got the pink chair, while Susie got the purple chair, and I now set my own little blue chair pincushion on my desk, alongside the Granny Stripe pencil cup cozy I made previously, in my June 21st post. Hmmm... Now I'm thinking I'd like to make some pretty stick pins for it sometime soon. We'll see...

Onto another project... I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I've been making tags for a Twilight Tag Swap, hosted by Lisa, at Mini Album Scraps. Well, I sent mine out, but didn't want to show anything until everybody got their tags, and no surprises were ruined. Today, I was very excited to find that the postman had delivered the tags that I now get back from just some of the very talented ladies who participated! Here's the video I made of how I made my tags for the swap, and then I show pictures of the tags that were sent back to me! BTW, I hope you like silent movies, because I didn't feel like talking in this one!!

Aren't all the tags beautiful?!! I LOVE every one of them!! My thanks to Chiara, Shannon, Li, Veronica, and Elizabeth!!!

So what's next on my to do list?

I've got a potholder to crochet, and a set of tags I'm working on, and I'm also working on a junk journal! What's a junk journal, you ask? Well, hang in there for me, because I'm hoping to share that sometime soon too!

Have a great day, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Are Ya Wearin' Blue?

2011-06-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I am! Celebrations are taking place 'round the world in great anticipation of the movie, The Smurfs, in 3D! June 25th, 2011 has officially been declared Global Smurf Day! And as soon as I heard about it.... Well, you might have guessed, I was ready to join right in!

The movie opens in theaters, nationwide, on July 29th, and it does bring back memories of how we kids would sit around the t.v., watching Papa, Brainy, Handy, Painter, Smurfette, Baby Smurf, and all the others!... Said to be no taller than "3 apples high", I've heard there are actually over 100 of these little blue characters in existence! I remember their smurfy language, and their little mushroom houses... even the theme song! Remember? "la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!" (It wasn't hard to remember those lyrics!)

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the trip to the Big Apple for the weekend, where people are dressing like smurfs to break a world record! Sounds like fun, but true blue fans who are left behind, can still be found celebrating through Facebook or Twitter. As for me, I will do so from my own little place in Blogland.

Join me for a piece of cake?!

Now, I had heard about this new Smurf movie in the making, quite some time ago. I can't even remember exactly when that was, but I know it wasn't long thereafter, that I felt inspired to turn a blue skein of yarn into a brand new doll.. A smurf, to be precise! Knowing nothing of how long it takes to make a full length movie, I kept waiting for some word on when this one would premier, so that THEN I could introduce her to my Blogland friends.... But to my surprise, it took a little longer than I expected!

So what do you think?.. Do you like her?!

Standing slightly taller than 3 apples high, my doll is actually about 18" tall, and I've named her Daisy Smurf! The basic body pattern I followed is one I've mentioned favoring before. I just love this particular pattern, having made various dolls from it for years now! You can find the pattern, for the original doll, "Sprite", right HERE.

Well, I sure had a smurfy-good time
visiting with you all today!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tag Theme "Seven"

2011-06-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

Various projects and responsibilities have prevented me from participating in the last couple of challenges hosted by Rebecca, at Blog Challenge Garden, and I was really starting to miss playing along...

But I seem to be catching up a little now, and I gave a couple days' thought to the newest tag challenge theme, which this week is the number SEVEN! My mind wandered and pondered over movies, songs, and various collections I have about the house. I thought about books...

...and even THE "Good Book", remembering how Jesus, with his disciples, fed thousands of men, women, and children with only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. "And they all ate and were satisfied." (Matthew15:32-37)... Well, I felt the Holy Spirit in me! And I felt that creative inspiration!.. Can I hear an "Amen"?!!

(Sigh) Unfortunately, it turned out I DIDN'T have the stamps, images, nor even enough ink in my printer at the moment, to transfer all this spirit onto paper!.. So-oooo, I tried to think of something else. Eventually, it seemed like I couldn't come up with anything at all, and that I might even have to skip a third weekly challenge... I felt a little discouraged, but oh well.... I began to focus on other things.

As we've been getting a lot of rain these days, and the temperatures have cooled significantly, I thought I should seize the opportunity! I began flipping through my recipes, with the intention to start some baking. Suddenly, I ran across a little scrap of a recipe, and next thing I knew, my brain was racing in reverse! I ran to the corner store, grabbed a bottle of 7Up, then headed right back home again. No, I wasn't thirsty, and I never did drink the soda! I just wanted the label!

Now I have a much nicer looking recipe, for 7Up Cake, along with a couple other tags I've already made, to add to my own personal scrappy-cookbook! It's a slow work in progress, but that cookbook is really special to me...

and I'm just loving it more and more, as I keep adding a mixture of recipes, photos, artistic embellishments, and all the happy memories that I can possibly fit in there!

Oh... And as for that soda?... Dear Son was looking at it for a minute, but I told him straightaway, "Uh-uh! I'm making cake with that tomorrow!"

Now I half expected a look from him, as if my face had turned green or something; but he knows me well! He just shrugged his shoulders, said "o.k.", as if no big deal, and found something else to drink!

He likes when he smells good things baking in the oven!.. And I love that he likes that! In fact, he just put his request in for Chocolate Chip Cookies... No need to ask twice! Cookies always sound good to me!

Thanks to Rebecca for hosting Tag Tuesday,

and thanks to everyone for stopping by today!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

2011-06-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Keep those projects movin'...

Glue it on, Sew it up,

Tape it up, Paint it on,

Git'er done, Wrap it up,

What stride!..

(Rollin', Rollin', Rollin')

Set it up, move along,

Goin' strong, Clean it up,

Next up, Bring it on..

Rawhide!

So, do I sound BUSY?! You bet! It's been non stop around here, but I thought, enough.. "Sit down, catch your breath, and take a break." I think I've earned at least a few minutes to myself here, and maybe a little escape to Blogland might be nice. What has it been?... a week since I posted last?! Time to catch up, or my next post will look like War and Peace!... Well, I've done a couple of small crochet projects. The first one was a little cell phone tote.

If you'd like to try to make one yourself, you can find the pattern HERE. The only thing different that I did, was to add a little strap. It's just more convenient for me to have one, as it gets carried along with me, everywhere!

The next quick project I tried was this Granny Stripe Jar Cozy. This jar sets on my computer desk, and will be filled with pens and pencils.

If you'd like the pattern for this, you can find it right HERE. I just added a little ribbon bow to mine.

I made a batch of custard recently. In fact, I liked it so much, I made a second batch!

Actually, I liked it so much, I will be making a THIRD batch today, so I'm just hoping my cholesterol count doesn't sky-rocket!!! If you'd like the recipe, you can find it HERE, at One Yarn After Another! I followed Grandma Conder's custard recipe to the letter, but I make mine in a 9 x 13" glass casserole dish, and I think I cook it maybe another 10 minutes longer than the recipe says to do... Delicious every time though, and I love it! Thanks for sharing your recipe Bev!

I did garage sale shopping over the weekend! This time it was extra fun for me! It turns out that Dear Son seems to like going to them as much as I do now!!! We covered a lot of territory that day, and here are some of the things we came home with.

See Raggedy Andy on the right? I have a few Raggedy Ann dolls, but I'm excited to have my first, very own Raggedy Andy!!

The next little guy was once lovingly crocheted for a little boy, but apparently the boy outgrew him. There's always a soft spot in my heart when I see a doll in danger of being tossed into some trash can, awaiting the garbage company's next pick-up.

So I brought him home with me, where he will NOT be outgrown, and where he'll be loved and appreciated! He seems to be quite happy, and is adapting very well here so far! (0;

I found some dishes I couldn't resist that day! I found a set of 8 dinner plates with apples on them! See that Mickey Mouse cookie cutter too?!!

Then I found this floral-patterned set, that I thought was nice for the summer season, which officially starts today!

The set shows a little wear and tear, but for the price, I was happy to bring that home too!.. So bright and cheerful they'll look for any lunch or dinner table!

Doesn't this little angel fit in perfectly with my favorite tea cups?!

Oh, you're probably thinking, "Didn't you say they broke?" This is another shelf, which, thank God, hasn't fallen off the wall yet. Dear Daughter says she knows of some heavy duty hooks I should use now, and we're going to pick those up soon...

I couldn't bear for the same fate to happen to this set of cups! A few of these pieces were given to me by my great grandmother!

I've been spending most of my spare time, usually sometime after dinner, making Twilight Tags for a swap I'm in over at Mini Album Scraps! I finished mine last night, then packaged and shipped them out this morning!

I can't show them yet, though, because I want them to be a surprise for the 5 people who will be receiving them! This event will be now carried on to a second set of tags based on the movie New Moon, and I can't wait to get started on those!!! By the time we get through the whole 5-step event, we will have an entire mini album made up, based on the entire Twilight Saga!!!

I've got several other crafty projects on my plate right now, but here's a little something I got in the mail recently! I won a giveaway, hosted by Maria, at Bubblegum and Duct Tape!

She sent me a small kit of goodies and supplies, so that I can make my own necklace!!! Soon as I can, I'd love to get started on making one! Thank you Maria!!

Well, Thursday will be our last day of school, before we kick off Summer Vacation!! Dear Son is deliriously happy about this, and looks forward to sleeping in late! I am as happy as he is, but I hated to burst his bubble, as I reminded him we will still keep up with our summer reading, every weekday... He is o.k. with this though, and takes it like a very good sport! Most recently, I put the book "Three Cups of Tea" aside. Have you read what's being said about that?! (sigh) I don't know for sure what's true or not true of it, but I don't want to read it now... Give me something light, fun, or at least completely HONEST, to read over the summer! THAT would be nice, I think! That's just my opinion...

Above, you can see I just got my copy of Fiona's first issue of Free Style Crafts "Beautiful Creations"! Inside this monthly publication, I now have immediate access to a good number of crafts, without having to search through over 1200 videos Fiona has already made! Photos and links are provided for handmade flowers, miniatures, tags, etc., etc., etc.!! If you're interested, you have your choice of either a printed publication, or you can order it in a PDF format... Or you can buy both, right HERE! Whatever you do, check out Fiona's YouTube station. She is a wonderful teacher and inspiration when it comes to all kinds of crafts!

Well, having finished my Twilight Tag project, I think that tonight I'll be getting my hooks and yarns back out for a change, and start working on some new projects lined up!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope everybody's enjoying this beautiful first official day of Summer!!

Possibilitarian

2011-06-14T01:15:00.000-07:00

Today Debi, at Bloggerette Sorority, is hosting a Garden Party! All participating Bloggerettes are called upon to show their gardens, no matter how big or how small.

Of course, in MY case, the issue is more a question of real or faux! When moving to the home which I now reside, I waved a sad good bye to what little lawn I had as it was, to come to an apartment building that sets on nothing but black tar. I have never been happy about it, but then I don't like to waste much time pouting about it either. There's a quote that's become one of my favorites, and this is how it goes...

"Become a possibilitarian.

No matter how dark things seem to be, or actually are,

raise your sights and see possibilities.

Always see them, for they are always there."

(Norman Vincent Peale)

I've been referred to as tenacious. Where there's a will, there's a way; and no doubt, I can certainly be strong-willed, depending upon the challenge. But I love the word "possibilitarian". It tells me I'm not a quitter. It tells me I'm tougher than I think, and I won't let anything or anyone drag me down. It tells me there's hope. It tells me if life hands me lemons, then make lemonade!...

And it says to me, if I can't grow a garden, then I'll just make my own! The Christmas Cactus on the left is real. It never flowers, but I just keep hoping maybe someday it will. The smaller plant on the right is an African Violet, and it too is real. It does flower occasionally, but one of our dear kitties knocked it over one day; and while it still looks fairly healthy, I fear it will be some time before it flowers again. The flowers in the middle are fake, but they still brighten up my tiny little window sill.

I crocheted the cozy for the jar that these flowers set in. It was a very quick and simple pattern, but it makes for a very pretty vase, in this case! If you'd like to try to make one yourself, you can find the pattern HERE. The only thing I did differently, was to crochet more rounds, so that I could gather a more ruffled looking top. The holes were already in the pattern, so it was easy to weave some satin ribbon and tie a bow. I added my flowers, and I can hardly remember even thinking about black tar!

My kitchen window gets absolutely no sun at all, let alone ANY kind of scenic view anyone would want to look at, but remember... I'm a possibilitarian now!

I went ahead and planted this little trio; and looking at them, they make me smile instantly! You can find the crochet pattern for the flowers HERE, and the crochet pattern for the ladybug HERE.

Another set of flowers can be made by recycling the bottoms of old plastic bottles!

You can find out how to make your own right HERE. Once I had the flowers painted, I just added some button centers, some wooden skewers, covered with florist tape, for stems, and voila!... I had another painted pot full of bright and cheery blooms! I love the little red bird who plays on my window sill, and keeps me company as I wash dishes! By the way, do you see that cute little butterfly? Debbie made that for me, when I first joined the Blissful ATC Swap! I think he looks very sweet in my kitchen window!

"Things turn out best for the people

who make the best out of the way things turn out."

(Art Linkletter)

Well, speaking of butterflies, I've found making them to be very addicting!

I made a third one recently, by crocheting some fun fur around the edge of its wings!

I just think they're so much fun, I'd love to make MORE! I may not find a lot of butterflies flitting about the pavement outside my door, but they certainly add a most welcome element of whimsy, I think, as they flit about the inside of my home!

Well, last but not least, I may not grow my own fresh tomatoes, but a true possibilitarian can still bake the store bought ones into one delicious Creamy Burrito Casserole!

I made this for the family, for dinner the other night, and it was agreed by all this recipe blew my old recipe right out of the water! We've found another family-favorite recipe that's a keeper! If it looks good to you too, you can find the recipe HERE, at One Crazy Cookie!

Special thanks to Debi,
for hosting our Sorority Garden Party!

I hope you enjoyed your visit here today,
and thanks for stopping by!

Um... Hello?

2011-06-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

Hello?.. Blogger?

Is SOMEBODY there?.. Anybody?

Yeah, I seem to have lost my list of followers AGAIN...

and I'm wondering WHY???

Do you think I could PLEASE have them back?

(sigh)

Well, at least I can still post. That's good; but the missing followers, the people who say they tried to comment but couldn't.. I hear some people can't upload their photos. It gets a little frustrating sometimes, but I suppose with the number of blogs that are out there, the experts just do what they can. I looked it up recently, and I read that as of February 2011, there was a count of over 156 MILLION blogs in existence! Can you believe that?!!

Hopefully, the issues will all straighten out sometime soon. I'd cross my fingers, but they're a little too busy right now, working with a pair of scissors and cutting out flowers!... About 30 of them just in this photo.

It's been so hot today, I TRY to imagine they're snowflakes... but it's really not working for me. I'm STILL hot... And uh-oh! I think I better get the vacuum cleaner out too, because I didn't have the good sense to cut these flowers out over a garbage bin either! (Bad Beansie!)... Oh well, I do like how they look already, and I haven't even painted or inked them up with any pretty colors yet!

I had a meeting at the school to discuss Dear Son's progress with homeschooling. Not much to say, except the meeting went well, and not too terribly long at all. It was just that the WALK was tough, in these hot and humid temperatures. I'm still wondering how awful I must have looked, as the secretary at the school must have felt sorry for me, and ran to get me a bottle of water, and my own personal fan!

Well, after all was said and done there, I stopped at a local dollar store on my way home.

I found a few things that I've been needing in the way of craft supplies, all very inexpensive, so I was very happy with the little treasures I could bring home with me!... But I wasn't back home for even barely a minute, when Dear Son told me about a "big crash" in the house while I was gone. WHAT?!... It turns out a shelf had fallen off the hooks that were supposed to hold it in place, and a good number of my favorite vintage tea cups, knick knacks, etc. came crashing down and were just either broken, or shattered. Oh my gosh, I could hardly bare to look at the time. At least nobody was hurt, but...

"Um... Hello?... Dear Lord? Are you there? Could you maybe, PLEASE, help me not to cry, to remain calm, to perhaps control my Irish temper, and to remember to count my many blessings?"

I'm doing my best not to think about it right now.. Just working on my crafts tonight, as if it didn't even happen. A cool down period, I guess... Great coping skills, huh?!!

I'll think about that tomorrow. For now, I know JUST the thing that might make me feel at least a little better about the incident. A temporary band-aid, perhaps....

But oh yes, I think I AM feeling better already! Want some?

Calories?... I don't care about that right now.

I'll just think about that tomorrow too.

Thanks so much for stopping by;
and please take some cookies with you before you go,
before I eat them all!

Yard Sales -n- Butterflies

2011-06-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

As I've already mentioned, I'm tickled pink that the garage-n-yard sale season is back in full swing now, and I went to a few. There was one house that had a little somethin' that I've been wanting for a while now...

I don't really like making videos; but when it becomes necessary for simpler craft display and blogging purposes, so far the process has been miserable! I've been using a bag of split peas, propped on a box of some sort, with my camera somehow propped on top of all that, and still having a large degree of difficulty with it. So, then I looked into the prices of new tripods, and I decided I'd rather deal the bag of peas!

But then I hit the jackpot at this one yard sale! There, sitting in the ~~owner's~~ PREVIOUS owner's driveway, was this little gem, absolutely calling to me!

A tripod for my camera, and for only $10.00! Woo-hoo!!! "I'll take it!".... Of course, ask me if I LIKE to make videos, now that I have the proper equipment? No! Again, I DON'T like public speaking. But at least, if I have to, the process will be MUCH easier now; and I think I'll put those peas to better use by making some homemade SOUP instead!

I've been working on some tags for a swap I'm in, but am taking a small break from those, to try my hand at butterflies!

This is the first one I put together. I made my own template, which measures about 5 1/2" wide x 4 3/4" high.

On the back I attached a pop-tab from a ~~beer~~ ahem.. I mean, soda can (grin) for hanging purposes. You see, I don't just save them for bracelets! Always remember to recycle!

Inspired by Fiona, and Cynthialoowho, these are made from cardstock, and whatever crafty supplies and materials I have on hand to play with... laces, ribbons, flowers, buttons, beads, etc, etc.. All I needed now was my hot glue gun, some E6000, and from there, the sky's the limit! Just let your imagination fly.... like a butterfly!!

I'm going to hang these two up now; but I had so much fun making them, that I think I'm seeing red and pink ones in the very near future! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope everyone's keeping cool as these summer temperatures are already on the rise again.

Thrifty Saturday Fun!

2011-06-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard yet, Diann, at The Thrifty Groove, is hosting her first Thrifty Tablescape Party. To be held every first Saturday of the month, the idea is to forget all the high-priced retail and specialty shop items; and instead, simply set a pretty table using second hand, clearance, or freebie treasures!

Well, garage sale season is really only just getting started around my neck of the woods, so I haven't had the chance yet to find many new treasures. I don't get to "Salvation Armani" very often (a little nickname for our local thrift shop!)... But I thought, all in good fun, and since Dear Daughter was coming over for breakfast this morning, I think I can throw a quick and simple tablescape together for the occasion! So I started preparing breakfast ahead last night. I found a recipe, HERE, for "Overnight Blueberry French Toast".

I got up this morning, made the homemade blueberry syrup to accompany it, and quick set my table before Dear Daughter arrived. (Actually, this is where she would start laughing, because once she got here, I was still quick trying to take pictures before we sat down to eat!.. Silly Mommy!)

Now, there are only 4 items on this table that could be classified as purchased brand-new. That would be the tea pot, the gravy boat, that I used for the syrup, and the blue pottery vase that was handmade by a friend from High School... Oh!.. and the silverware.

The little crystal candle holders are from the dollar store. I crocheted the placemats myself, and everything else you see is secondhand. I'm pretty sure I've probably shown my little rooster at one of Barb's Rooster Parties, over at Bella Vista! I was thrilled when I found him at a garage sale!

The tea cups and saucers I bought at a thrift store. The juice glasses I bought at an estate sale. Please, try not to look at my paper napkins. Nothing else matched! Maybe I'd better get the sewing machine out to sew a set or two; but in the end, no matter! Everything was delicious, and it was so nice to sit down to a nice Saturday morning meal with both my kids!

Shortly after Dear Daughter left, Dear Son and I decided to take the dog for a walk. The weather was sunny, and there was a nice breeze... At one point, I even found a penny! I picked it up, and wouldn't you know?.. I had good luck! I knew there were a couple of garage/yard sales around the neighborhood, so we just walked in those general directions, thinking maybe we'll conveniently find something fun or interesting along the way. Well, I only found this one item, a tin, but I was really tickled to find it, and I only paid 50 cents for it!

I thought it would look cute in my movies-themed living room. It sits about 9" high. See how the awning lifts up to reveal the "blockbuster premier" they're playing for the night"?

Isn't that CUTE?!! It was calling to me! Oh, yes it was! I'm not sure what I'll use it for yet, but I'm sure I'll come up with something! To be honest, I think this was my favorite find of the day!

Well, then on the way back home, we ran into people "closing up shop" from the garage sale they had. They were just throwing things by the curb, with a big sign that read "FREE"! So, I got the tin for 50 cents, and I got the rest of THIS...

for absolutely NOTHIN'!!

Yes, I'm doin' my little happy dance now! Oh yeah..

"Whoomp, there it is! Whoomp, there it is!"

What a great day we had today!

Special thanks to Diann for hosting today's
Thrify Tablescape Party!

Thanks to Nikki, at Chef in Training, for her delicious recipes!
Thanks to Dear Son for helping me carry
all this stuff HOME!! LOL!

And thanks to all for stopping by!
I hope you enjoyed your visit here today!

Pink and Green

2011-06-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

Yup, that's it!.. Nothing but pink and green today! The theme for Tag Tuesday this week was "soft pink and green". Hosted by Rebecca at Blog Challenge Garden, participants are welcome to use any image they please, but must stick to the colors indicated.

I must confess, this was rather convenient in a way, as I had started several tags around Easter time, in pink and green, but never did get around to finishing them. So, this was finally the fire under my "behind" to DO so! I had the image and stamps done on them, but not the backs, and no trims, ribbons or embellishments of any kind yet... So here's how I put my tag together...

I stickled the butterflies, and added various types of tiny floral embellishments. I green-glittered the larger leaves, added rhinestones for the larger butterfly's body, and used a green satin ribbon at the top.

I'm now using my tag as a bookmark!

After finishing that, I stumbled upon a very quick and simple craft project, HERE, that I thought was cute.. and "Oh well, WHY NOT!" I mean, with the movie wall of fame going on above my entertainment center, wouldn't this Popcorn Box Journal be cute on the coffee table?!

But what does this have to do with pink and green, you ask?

I'm sorry!.. Why, the green bowl of popcorn, of course!

Would you like some?

As you can see, my little notepad is coming in handy already, helping me to keep track of which project(s) I should or shouldn't start next....

Gee, while I've got the popcorn out, why don't I bring out some other goodies to serve my guests today?! The temperatures were much cooler today, so I couldn't wait to get out my cookbooks and fire up the oven!

Today, I made Peanut Butter Banana Bread. You can find Bev's recipe for it HERE, on her blog, One Yarn After Another. (I hear she's celebrating 200 followers!) Oh, this bread smelled so good!.. But just as soon as I'd taken it out to cool on my kitchen table, and I was already popping more yummy goodness into the oven; a full mini-muffin tray of one of Dear Son's favorite snacks... Sugar Donut Muffins! He's been asking for them! If you'd like to try making some yourself, you can find the recipe for them right HERE.

Looks good, doesn't it? Try some!

And let's have tea too!

Yes, June's looking like a very busy month! Here it is, nearing the end of the school year. I remember going to bed with much on my mind last night; but I woke up this morning, got my coffee, headed to my computer.. and for some odd reason, I just felt like starting this day differently. I grabbed the guitar I bought back in April, 2010. It's been quite a while since I've even had a chance to play with it. Dear Son doesn't seem to show the interest I'd hoped he would in it, but I look forward, as Summer approaches, to at least learn more with it myself!

I still feel a little awkward and clumsy with it so far; but at the same time, since last picking it up, months ago, I'm pleasantly surprised that I've remembered so quickly, what I thought I'd probably forgotten!... Wait a minute. What does this have to do with pink and green, again you may ask?

Well... Ummm... Er...

Oh yeah!.. I forgot to tell you! My good friend Kermie stopped by! (Yeah, that's right! He's green!) He thought that maybe we could have a little jam session, and asked to take a turn with the guitar! Well, sure, Kermit! Sing! Sing a song!

"Caribbean Amphibian..

He likes to hop in the tropical sea.

Caribbean Amphibian..

A frog in a coconut tree!"

Oh that was awsome, Kermit!... But now you've got to tell me. Did I hear there's going to be a new Muppet movie coming to theaters in November this year?!

"Oh, yes, that's right!... Kissy Kissy!

And moi will be there too, bien sur!

Isn't that right, mon cher Kermie?!"

My gosh! Miss Piggy?!... You just never know who's going to show up here, do you?! But you DO know, of course, I'm a big fan, and I can't wait to see it!... Hmmm... November. What do you think? Just in case, maybe I'd better write it down in my popcorn journal, so I don't forget?

Special thanks to Rebecca for hosting Tag Tuesdays!

..And thanks to all for stopping by today!

Chim Chim Cherr-y

2011-05-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

Oh, what a title.. I guess I've still got Mary Poppins on the brain, from a previous post!

Well, just like I thought it would, the weekend flew right by. Not even June yet, and I couldn't believe the summer-like temperatures we've been getting here already! After last year, I already knew to double our stock of ice cubes in the freezer, for not only ourselves, but for the pets as well.

When the weather gets this uncomfortable, our only relief is a tall icy beverage, as we sit no further than directly 2 feet from a fan running at it's highest setting!... The problem is, I'm not very good at sitting in one spot, with nothing to do. So the majority of my weekend was watching t.v., reading, and crocheting.

Here's what I crocheted...

The pattern is actually designed to be a dishcloth, but I just can't see washing dirty dishes with this! So I decided I liked it better as a potholder, and simply added a back side, and a ring at the top!

Not comfortable with the holes in the pattern, though, and not wanting anyone to be burned if and when using it, I also sewed a thinly-padded insert to it before attaching the two sides together.

As you can see, while I was working on it...

my cat enjoyed sitting close by.

He loves playing with yarn just as much as I do!

I'm happy with how it came out, and it was just the right kind of quick, simple project to pick up and put down as I pleased over the holiday weekend. If you'd like to see the pattern, to try it out yourself, HERE'S where you can find it!

I was glad to find some leisure time for reading. I finally finished the book Gracie, A Love Story. It's an older book, published in 1988, but I LOVED it! Of course, written by George Burns, you could EXPECT it to be funny...

But I found it very interesting too, reading about the old days of Vaudeville and Radio. Best of all though, was a side of George Burns you didn't necessarily see in his comedy routines, or in his roles playing (Oh) God... While reading this book, there was no mistaking how much George Burns loved his wife, known to the public as Gracie Allen! I don't know that I've EVER heard any husband speak so highly and lovingly as did he in this book. I loved reading every word of it, but not surprisingly, I was crying my eyes out at the end, when Gracie died, after a long battle with heart disease. 32 years later, George Burns passed away, just 49 days after his 100th birthday.. He was laid to rest at Gracie's side.. the marker at Forest Lawn Memorial Park reading, "Gracie Allen and George Burns- Together Again."

I'm onto my next book now, Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson.

A friend of mine, from church, loved the book, and lent it to me, so I'll be starting this one today.

We spent a little time poolside over the weekend, just about an hour or so... not any longer than that really... But already I've got a little bit of a sunburn to show for it. Next time I'll put the lotion on!... We did a little shopping too, and I came across the tote bag you see here...

My daughter is a teacher, so I couldn't resist! I'm SURE I'll make good use of it, with yarns or crafty supplies of some sort, right?! Speaking of Dear Daughter, she's coming over for dinner tonight. It's much too hot to run the oven, so I'm thinking submarine sandwiches might be a very good idea!... maybe some cherry pie and ice cream for dessert?

Hope you're keeping cool,

and enjoying your day, whatever you're doing!

...And thanks for stopping by!

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

And thanks to those who made the ultimate sacrifice...

Four things support the world...

the learning of the wise,

the justice of the great,

the prayers of the good,

and the valor of the brave.

Thanks for stopping by,

and I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day Weekend!

Spoonful of Sugar

2011-05-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

I'm running a little later this week, than I would have preferred to, for this week's tag challenge, hosted by Rebecca at Blog Challenge Garden. I could point the finger at many reasons and conditions, but one of them was a nasty bout with allergies! It has definitely slowed me down, and it just kept hanging on, worst case I've had in years. My gosh, is it fresh in my mind the horrible taste of cough and allergy syrups I took, trying to get a good night's sleep, and trying to get better! So it is little wonder to me, that somehow my mind went right to Mary Poppins when I heard the theme this week was a SPOON!

The little spoon I tied to this tag could use some polishing, yes... But I'm very happy with this tag this week! I'm a big fan of the movie, the cast, and love all the songs!... I used to even have the doll, and am sorry I don't know whatever happened to it.

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun!" I definitely had fun making this tag!... And now I'm kind of excited to go hang this on my movie star "wall of fame", just above the entertainment center in my living room! I think it's going to look great there!

Thanks to Rebecca,

for hosting Tag Tuesday each week!...

And thanks to all for stopping by today!

Spring Fashion Lineup

2011-05-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

After crocheting a pillow recently, and posting the photos, I realized maybe it was time for a little fashion makeover for my Goody Two Shoes dolly... The outfit she was wearing is actually an outfit my own daughter wore, when she was just a peanut, so you can imagine how much I still LOVE that little outfit... But looking at that photo, I thought "O.K... O.K.! Time to throw this outfit in the wash... and maybe it is time for a little fashion makeover." Something pretty for Spring would be nice, right?!

In the meantime, I had another doll waiting for an outfit too. I found Dora at a neighborhood yard sale. I thought maybe Dear Daughter, who teaches Spanish, might like her! So, the time was right. I got out my hooks and yarns, and I began crocheting a couple of matching Spring outfits for BOTH dolls!

These outfits are inspired by a pattern named "Love and Sunshine", dated 2007, written by Darlene Cutler; and if you're interested, you can find it HERE. Many thanks to Darlene, for all the beautiful doll patterns she shares! You can find a good many more of her patterns HERE as well! I followed much of Darlene's pattern fairly closely, but not entirely. For my doll, who stands about three or 4 inches taller, I had to alter the pattern quite a bit. The flower embellishments on the tops are my own doing.

Now doesn't this look better?! I'm pretty happy with how cute both dolls look now, but now I just hope Dear Daughter thinks so too!

Meanwhile, I've signed up for a couple of tag swaps. First one up will be for Twilight tags, at Mini Album Scraps. (By the way, there's still time to sign up if you'd like! This is gonna be FUN!)... I've been watching the movie, and scouring through the book for what favorite scene and/or quote I want my tag to depict.

I've been torn, because the tag is supposed to be based on the movie, and not necessarily the book. I really wanted to go with something that was relevant to both, but I think I've finally come up with an idea to focus on. Now all I have to do is start gathering my goodies and scrapbooking supplies, and I can start making my tags!

Speaking of scrapbooking supplies, a very sweet scrapbooking friend, through YouTube, has just sent me an RAK package! Just look at all the beautiful dies Sherri, 101shabbychic, has sent me, to use with my new Big Shot!

I was so excited to receive these, and can't thank Sherri enough for such a generous gift! I have no doubt, I will make very good use of all of these! Sherri, YOU'RE a doll!!! Thank you!.. Thank you so much!

And thanks to all for stopping by today!

As One Door Closes..

2011-05-21T00:18:00.000-07:00

Make sure you hang a tag on it!!

Recently, I came across an intriguing challenge over at All My Art. There, I found Jeanie asking if anyone might like to join her in making some hanging door tags!... You know like the ones that say, "Do Not Disturb", "My Room", "Wipe Your Feet", or "Gone Fishing". Well, as her own ideas for door tags first started multiplying, so she officially began her Door Tag Challenge!

Interested?.. If so, Jeanie's also offering to place your name in a prize-drawing for each tag you make! While not entirely sure what amount of time I'll have to make my own tags, I did at least finish my first one!

"Do not Disturb" was not exactly the message I wished to convey. My tag, more or less, just expresses that I'm busy at the moment with just one of the many things I love to do artistically...

..which could mean that I'm either drawing, or painting..
or maybe sewing, crocheting, or scrapbooking...

So I made this artist's palette with chipboard and cardstock. Then I added colorful little blings to look like paints in several colors, along with a little water-color paint brush. Of course, I couldn't forget to add a crochet hook! I never liked crocheting with plastic hooks, so it was no great sacrifice to use it towards this project; and besides, I thought the color pink worked nicely with everything else! Next, I added some sewing supplies.

These little spools of thread can be found in small kits, for very little cost, at your local pharmacy, grocery market, or dollar stores. I've had these for so long, and never used them, so I just KNEW they were perfect for this project! I thought the little vintage wrapper from some old sewing machine needles was a nice touch too! Next, I added the plastic sewing needle, which again I thought the size and color, like a robin's egg blue, was just right to embellish this door tag! I glued and stickled my flowers, and added ribbon at the top to hang it, and I was done! I have left the back blank so far, seeing as I've not yet decided if I want to use it for pictures or journaling of some sort; but I really had fun making this, and have ideas for other door tags now too! I'm not sure yet, if I'll actually make more or not, but we'll see...

In the meantime, now that packages have been sent and received, I can now post about the Blissful ATC Swap, hosted by Wendy, for the month of May.

The theme, this time around, was "Let's Go to the Movies". I'm guessing most of my visitors know by now, how much I LOVE the movies, so I was very excited to sign up. My swap partner for month was Amy, at Ruby Moon Art. Here is the Moulin Rouge card and goodies she made up for me!

Love the movie, the color, the sparkle!.. Thank you so much, Amy!! I really love it, and it's such a gorgeous addition to my growing ATC collection!

Now, as I began to make a card for Amy and myself (I always make two!), it wasn't quite so easy deciding on which movie I might focus on in particular; and Amy didn't really express a particular favorite, so "what to do, what to do??"..... Then my thoughts drifted to the recent passing of Elizabeth Taylor, and the wheels of my creative processes began spinning! I could do a sort of movie tribute! So, in the spirit of "going to the movies", I put together an ATC in the form of a pocket...

and "featured" my favorite Elizabeth Taylor film,

Cleopatra!

Tucked inside the pocket, you can see were two tickets... On the back of one ticket was an Elizabeth Taylor quote, "Big girls love big diamonds." On the back of the second ticket was my own personal info/message for Amy. With the tickets, I also added the small folio, on the right, of just some of the top films that Elizabeth Taylor is probably most remembered in.

Here is what one side of the folio looks like,

when fully opened...

And here's what the other side of the folio looks like...

I'm happy with how my little tribute came out, but for lack of room, I couldn't even include ALL my favorite Elizabeth Taylor films. The two I wished I could have included were Little Women, where she played Amy March; and The North and The South, in which she played Madam Conti!

Well, speaking of movies, I picked up an old record album at a rummage sale my church was having...

Isn't it "loverly"?!! My Fair Lady!.. Yes, I was very excited to find this; and yes, I still have a record player that actually works! Every once in a while, I love to throw an old album onto the turntable, to hear Judy Garland, or Barbra Streisand, or whoever... just to unwind, maybe while I crochet a few rounds or rows on some project I may be working on at the time... Anyways, as if that wasn't enough, I then found this...

..in the $5 bin at Walmart! I've never seen this one before, so I can't wait to watch it!

Thanks to all for stopping by today,

and have a great weekend!

Strawberry Salutations

2011-05-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

For this week's Tag Tuesday challenge, at the Blog Challenge Garden, the current theme is "strawberries".

Having no papers or stamps, embellishments, nor even any graphics on hand to go with this theme, I then began thinking to look upon songs, poems, or quotes. I found a quote that inspired me, by Terri Guillemets, at her website, The Quote Garden...

"Strawberries are the angels of the earth,

innocent and sweet,

with green leafy wings reaching heavenward."

Isn't that sweet?.. Well, from as young as I can remember, I always loved to draw... pictures of all kinds. There was a particular set of little characters I used to doodle all the time, I remember, so I decided to use them in my tag. However, this time I would not be drawing them, I would be paper-piecing them together... everything, down to their little noses, is cut by hand. Now, of course, they don't look exactly like the little drawings I've done, but I'm happy with the paper-cut version! The technique was fun!

Here you see my own artistic take on strawberry angels. I didn't add halos, but I made their bodies and caps to look like strawberries, and then gave them their "green leafy wings", all set against a starry, sort-of-heavenly, background. You can't tell in the photo, but the strawberries in their hands are raised for dimension; and the one thing I was sorry I forgot, was to glimmer mist the one little strawberry angel's wings, on the bottom left of the tag. But here you have it.. I hung it in my kitchen window, just above my sink, and it makes me smile!

Well, as it so happened, Dear Daughter was coming for dinner last night, and for SOME reason, I had a craving for strawberries.. So I put on my Strawberry Shortcake apron and I whipped together a Strawberry-Pretzel Pie!

While I was at it, I baked a Banana Cream Pie too! Both were delicious, and by the time we'd finished dinner and dessert last night, I'm surprised I could even MOVE! With that, and the exception of the allergies I'm still suffering, all in all, I still couldn't have wished for a nicer evening with both my kids!

Special thanks to Rebecca for hosting Tag Tuesdays,

and thanks to all for stopping by today!

Smorgasbord!

2011-05-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

By definition...

smorgasbord: noun... a wide range of something;

a variety.

...And that's just what I have here today! A "smorgasbord" for a post!... But after the little Blogger Botch-Up most of us have had to endure for over.. what?.. 20 to 30-something hours now?...

I can think of a few MORE special words

for the day, boys and girls!

(Can you hear my imitation of Mr. Robinson, from SNL?)

I can't believe how long it took the "maintenance team" to fix this. I think I was starting to suffer withdrawal symptoms!.. But wait.. What do I see? What do I hear? Here it is, Saturday morning, and YES!

Oh, HAPPY DAY!! We're finally up and running again!... And I can finally PUBLISH this post! I think I hear angels singing! Do you?

Well, I guess I'll start with Mother's Day. It was wonderful! I went to church in the morning, where every Mom there got a flower just like this one!

Isn't it pretty? It's still hangin' in there, just as pretty as it was on Sunday!

We've really been enjoying the gorgeous weather throughout the week. I'm afraid my allergies are kicking in, though, and I'm paying the price! It's definitely slowing me down, and my voice is not sounding too good at the moment, but it's not knocking me down completely... at least not yet!

I participated in the Blissful ATC swap for April, and am finally able to post pictures of that. The theme for the month was "steampunk", and I gotta tell ya. I have a hard time wrapping my head around what that's about at all! I've seen it everywhere, and I think it looks great, but to call upon myself to come up with something of the sort??... It was a real challenge, and I wondered if my results were more punk, than steampunk; but this is what I came up with, for my swap partner, Toni, at Time 2 B Creative. This is the front of the card I made for her...

...and this is the back of the card.

In the meantime, here is what Toni sent me.

This is the front... I love the colors already,

and just look at this butterfly!

...and this is the inside, when you open it!!

How AWSOME is THIS?!.. I LOVE it!

Thank you so much, Toni!

After finishing up on this swap, I then finished up a TP Roll Spring mini-album I made for another swap I was in (and for which I am still waiting for one back...

My swap partner seems to be running VERY late with mine, so we'll see what happens there, I guess.)

Missing my crochet hooks, as I've mentioned, I began working on a throw pillow for my room. If you remember, I bought a new bed set, and I LOVE it, but the color is a real challenge to work with.

I wanted to crochet a throw pillow. Walmart did not carry an assortment of colors that I could even hope to make due with, so I had to special-order my yarn from elsewhere... Hobby Lobby, to be specific. The pattern I used was "Grandma's Garden Cushion", found at The Royal Sisters.

The colors I used were, Antique Teal, by "I Love This Yarn!"; Dusty Blue, by "Vannah's Choice"; Paradise Blue, by "TLC Essentials"; and Black, by Red Heart Super Saver.

I'm thinking I might make my Goody Two Shoes dolly a new dress using the left over yarns I still have. Maybe done in white to break up all the dark colors, with touches of teals in it? What do you think?

Well, soon after making the pillow, I bounced right back to my scrapbooking supplies, and made this vintage-looking oval plaque...

..which was inspired by Fiona's, HERE. After making this, I paper-crafted another little something I've always wanted to try...

C'est une chaussure en papier!

It's a paper shoe, done in a Marie Antionette style! I finally got around to making one, after seeing a UStream tutorial, made by Kimi, at Unique Scrappiness. You can find a number of tutorials to make various styles, at YouTube, such as this one HERE.

Onto my next project, I most recently discovered a new take on crocheted flowers!

This "extreme" flower may look small in the picture, but the hook is actually a size Q hook, and my flower actually measures to just over a FOOT wide! You can find more about this HERE. It is suggested that you use 5 or 6 strands of yarn, but I chose to use 4. I will be pinning mine to a styrofoam circle, and hanging it up on the wall, but this was so much fun... very quick and easy to do, that I think I might make another to top another throw pillow! Wouldn't that be cute for the Spring and Summer seasons?!

Well, I'm already moving on to my next projects, both crochet and scrapping. I have plans to reorganize my little craft/scrapbooking corner too. As one could have guessed, a few more tools and supplies, and already I need to reorganize!... Remember this little peek?

Yup.. That was about IT! Just a couple of spice racks and a small table to work on. It's only a 3' x 3' space, so it's a real challenge, making it into a functional little corner to work in, while still catching my favorite t.v. shows or movies in my living room. Maybe I can show you more of how this comes together in my next post... We'll see...

Anyways, I'm so glad Blogger is finally up and running again, and that we could spend some time together today! What a nice way to start the weekend!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Can you see this?

2011-05-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

Today is National Scrapbook Day, which is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of May...

...and tomorrow is Mother's Day! Now as I said in Thursday's post, I was going to start picking up my yarns and crochet hooks again... cuz I miss them... and I think they miss ME! (hee hee)... Well, I HAVE in fact started a couple of new crochet projects!

However, just yesterday I found a package at my door. I knew it was from my daughter, since she told me to watch for it, but I wasn't sure what would be in it. I only knew she knew of several crafty tools I'd been wishing for. However, the size of the box had my heart beating double time, as I wondered if it was what I was thinking it was!!! Well.. Watch for yourself. Here's how it went from there!

I was over the MOON with my new Big Shot (gee, can you tell?), and can't thank Dear Daughter enough!! She is a sweetie, isn't she?!!! Now you did SEE it, didn't you? Are you SURE?.. Was the camera set right? Did you SEE it?!! LOL! Dear Son, (aka "my mister") was a very good sport, helping me set up and film this video! My bag of peas for a tripod wasn't being too agreeable at first... Gee, now should I have edited some of those "can you see it"s out of there?!

*Update: A couple of friends are asking what a Big Shot is. Take me back to November of last year and I wouldn't have had a clue myself! Up to now, every little shape I cut from paper for scrapbooks and tags is fussy-cut by hand or by punches.

The Sizzix Big Shot is a machine of sorts that cuts intricate shapes out of paper, cardstock, chipboard, magnetic sheets, fabric, etc.. FOR me!

So if I want to make homemade invitations, for example, and I want a shape of a cupcake, or a bottle of bubbly, or a string of hanging pennants... and say I want 25 of them... then I just get out my Big Shot, and I save my hands the trouble of cutting as many as I might need!... For another example, maybe I just want to cut out ONE bird cage, but it's just too complicated to cut every little bar and space that I would have to for a cage, I again would just get out my Big Shot, and it does that for me!

I have only taken it out of the box so far. I need to get the appropriate toys to play with it now!.. Dies and embossing folders.. (Oh yes, I forgot to say it also EMBOSSES, so I can take a plain old blank sheet of paper, and turn it into a beautifully patterned sheet of paper!)

Ooooh, I can hardly WAIT to use it!!! But that's o.k. While I wait for these things to come in the mail, I'll be back to curling up with my hooks and yarns, and probably a good movie or two... Maybe I'll catch some HSN, to see what scrapbooking specials they have going on!!

I'm not yet sure what we're doing tomorrow, for Mother's Day.. I hear the weather should be nice, so I'm already happy about that!... But to all the moms, whatever you do this weekend, I wish you the best...

Thanks to all for stopping by!

Don't You Forget About Me

2011-05-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

A friend recently questioned me if I wasn't heading my separate way now, artistically; and this weighs on my mind some, wondering if this is what everybody is thinking?... So, as today is Theme Song Thursday, over at Hootin' Anni's,

here's the song I chose,
in light of this quandary...

"Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey,

Ohhhh...

Won't you come see about me,

I'll be alone, dancing, you know it baby,

Tell me your troubles and doubts

Giving me everything inside and out, and

Love's strange, so real in the dark,

Think of the tender things that we were working on.

Slow change may pull us apart..

When the light gets into your heart, baby.."

"Don't you forget about me,

Don't, Don't, Don't, Don't

Don't you forget about me.

Will you stand above me,

look my way, never love me?.."

"Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling

down, down, down.

Will you recognise me,

call my name, or walk on by,

rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling

down, down, down."

Having discovered a new interest in scrapbooking, does not mean I've forgotten my first love! What?!.. Are you kidding?!... As a matter of fact, there are several projects I have in mind that I hope and plan to get around to soon... So to my Blogland crochet friends, hang in there with me, if you will. I just love and enjoy all kinds of arts, crafts, and needlework!

"Don't you try to pretend,

It's my feeling we'll win in the end...

...Will you walk on by?

Come on, call my name.

Will you call my name?"

"I say La.. La La La La.. La La La La..

La La La La La La La La La La La.."

Thanks to Anni, for hosting Theme Song Thursday!..
Thanks to Keith Forsey, Steve Schiff, and Simple Minds
for such a great song!..
And to all crocheters, cross-stitchers, scrapbookers,
and anyone else who comes just to say "Hi",
thanks for stopping by today!

Blue and Green

2011-05-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

The theme this week at Blog Challenge Garden is to make any tag we want, so long as the colors are "blue and green". So I decided I wanted to make something with a blue background, and then add a green frog or two. Of course, though, who other than Kermit would be my favorite frog?!... So, with this in mind, I began my project for a blue and green tag. Here's what I came up with...

It's funny that while I was purposely trying to use several stamps in my last tag, I did not use a single stamp on this one!... It may not be easy being green, but "blue and green" was just plain ol' fun for me to play around with this time around! I did, at least, get to try my hand at a couple of new embellishments!

I began my project by recycling the side of a Puffs tissue box, for the background of my tag. The colors, and even the design of the box, were perfect!

Next, I added a picture of "Kermie", singing with his banjo; and then I added a few words from his song "Rainbow Connection". I then took a big round leaf from some silk flowers I had, stickled it up a bit, and added that to look like a lily pad... Now, for the flowers.....

The two smaller flowers are silk flowers, but the larger one on the right is my paper flower! This is my first attempt at making them. I don't yet have a die-cutting machine of any kind, so everything is cut by hand. I use ready-made frosting containers to store the flowers I cut up ahead of time, ready to reach for whenever I may want to. One container holds one kind of flower..

...while the second container holds another kind of flower, with a more squared-type petal, which I referred to as... for lack of knowing what else to call them...

And then there is this third container, which holds a flower some of you may not have heard of before. The original creator of these flowers may call them "green", as you will see on her video...

but I call them my "Fiona Flowers".

If you like to craft, then Fiona is the woman to see! You can find her YouTube channel HERE, where I first decided to try making any kind of paper flowers at all!... Now there are different materials you may choose to use to make these flowers from; but mine are made simply from plain printer paper, some of my glimmer sprays, both purchased and homemade, a couple of buttons for the centers, and a little hot glue. Then because I used a printer paper, rather than a thicker-type cardstock, I used a triple-thick clear glaze spray to toughen them up just a bit.

I also had fun making the other four rose-type paper flowers, with the help of this video, HERE. I really had fun making these, and will definitely be making more! They are not only nice for tags and scrapbooking, but for gift toppers too!

Well, moving on... After making the flowers, I tried my hand at making another embellishment that I learned from Fiona...

...the dragonfly!

(Hmmm.. I think I'll be making more of those too!)

All in all, I think Kermie likes my tag!...

And I'm happy with it, so what do you think?

A special thanks to Rebecca, for hosting Tag Tuesday...

and thanks to all for stopping by!

(Well, you just KNOW that Miss Piggy would NEVER let this day go by without taking SOME kind of part in it, right?!!)

Have a great day!

Arbor Day

2011-04-30T15:51:00.000-07:00

Our theme for the week, at Blog Challenge Garden, has been Arbor Day... Around my neck of the woods, it is celebrated on the last Friday of the month of April. However, my mind was a little preoccupied with William and Kate, so-ooooo...

We were asked to put together a tag with a tree as the main focal point. I'm running a little late on mine, but finally the weekend is here, all the royal wedding festivities have quieted down now, and I was ready to surround myself in papers, inks, stamps, ribbons and laces!

I have seen many a beautiful tag, and ATC card done by those who used multiple stamps, and overlapped them, coming up with the most beautiful masterpieces! So this week, I decided to go all out... go wild... get messy, experiment, create!!... Muahahahahahaha!!!

BUT... I still wanted to keep a feel for what Arbor Day means to me, like beauty, shade, homes for the birds, and oh yeah... OXYGEN!... I think it's very important that we stop tearing trees down. I don't think we need one more empty strip mall taking up space that God gave to these trees in the first place!...

But, o.k.. Breathe. Focus.
What can I come up with here?....

Yup, there you have it... the front of my tag. And it would definitely appear that I prefer doing things in baby steps, don't you think?! I really only overlapped two stamps, but if you look closely, I actually overlapped three! Ha! Ha!

Here's the back of the tag, where I can journal about what I love about the trees, and the favorite trees that I remember throughout my life. What favorite trees might I have, you might ask? Well, here's a quick story about one of them....

...I had a favorite pear tree. It was small, but produced the most beautiful pears. I lived in an apartment at the time, and this pear tree sat on an empty lot next-door to me. My kids played in that yard all the time, but I had never met the owner. The first year I lived there, I watched every beautiful pear on that tree just rot away, as it appeared that nobody cared a thing about it. What else could I do though? I didn't want to steal them...

Well, a year's time came and went, and more beautiful pears grew back on this sweet little tree! This time, I wasn't going to let them go to waste! I picked them, and made a wonderfully big batch of pear sauce... even canned some! It was delicious! Time came around again the next year, and a neighbor friend of mine came running to me to warn me somebody was stealing my pears! WHAT?!!.. I ran right out, and there this man was, with his own little step ladder no less!! The NERVE of this man!... So I marched right over to him, and with all the Irish temper that was boiling over in me, I hollered...

"Excuse me! WHAT are you doing?!!"

"Well," (he said rather calmly)... "I OWN this tree.".... (Gasp!)

"Oh... Well... O.K. then... Just checking."

...And on that note, I slowly backed away, went back into the house, and proceeded to mind my own business from that point on. Needless to say, I BUY my pears now!

Thanks for stopping by...
Thanks to Rebecca for hosting Tag Tuesdays...

and hope everyone's enjoying their weekend!

Goin' To The Chapel

2011-04-29T01:41:00.000-07:00

...and they're gonna get ma-a-arried!

It's William's and Kate's big day, and if I can't make it to the other side of the pond, then I'm just going to pull an all-nighter here, and catch the wedding on t.v... They're supposedly televising it here, starting around 4:30, maybe 5:00ish, and I'm determined not to miss a minute of it!! In the meantime, I thought I'd make myself a little something to remember the occasion by, so I scrapped myself a royal tag!

I can't wait to see Kate's wedding gown!.. And, oh, I can still remember Princess Di in her beautiful gown too. How very sad she is not here, this day; but I just know she's right with William in spirit, somehow, and I can only imagine how proud she is of her son, and how happy she is for him and his bride...

Actually, if my grandmother were still here, I imagine she might have liked my tag, and all the royal festivities taking place right now. She loved keeping up with all the latest news from the royal family, saving articles and photos from newspapers or magazines!

I'm afraid, as I'll only be attending the televised event, I, myself, will not be dressing up for this momentous occasion. No fancy hats.. No pearls.. I guess I'll just be hanging out today in my jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers... But I'll be happy to raise my glass for the happy couple, when they are officially announced "husband and wife"! God's blessings, and best wishes to them both!...

Update: Well, did you see the wedding?!! I did, and what a gorgeous event! Wasn't it beautiful?! I cried! I couldn't help it... Did you?.. I think my favorite part of it all was when William first saw Kate in her gown, and he told her she was beautiful! That just turned me to mush right then and there. Awwwwwwwwww...

Well, here's the back of my tag. It's completed now, and I have a sweet little homemade souvenir to remember it all.

In the meantime, I just want to say, my heart and prayers go out to any friends and families who may have been affected by the recent barrage of tornadoes. I only hear bits and pieces right now of how, out of six states that were "ravaged", Mother Nature seems to have come down hardest on the state of Alabama. May God comfort and provide in all and whatever ways He is needed there.

Ready or Not

2011-04-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here it is.. and boy I was nervous! I've never done this before, and I've NEVER liked public speaking of ANY kind!... BUT, I want to share how my scrapbook came out, and this was the best and easiest way to do it. Sometimes ya just gotta be brave.. Muster up a little COURAGE! Right?!

It really is funny, because at the end I'm not sure why I am laughing, or giggling the way I am, except for that I'm just so happy I'm DONE with it! No more talking.. I'm o.k... I survived the challenge! I can quietly go back to blogging now, and I'm feeling a little better already... back in my comfort zone again!

Just to give credit where credit is due though, here are some links that were either mentioned, or should be!

For where I learned to make the fabric flower on the cover: Drew Michaels Design Blog.

For the creator of Abbie: "Thanks again Elsa!", at Just a Few Designs.

For where I got the Wizard of Oz papers: Scrapbook.com.

For where I got the Wizard of Oz paper dolls: go THIS Squidoo.com page.

For a very helpful hand in figuring out how to post a YouTube video, along with the continuous, tremendous amount of creative inspiration she shares, "Thanks Fiona!"

The kids are off from school this week! Hooray! Everybody's enjoying the break, and I'm busy with new projects already!

Thanks for stopping by!

My Favorite Chair

2011-04-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

The best seat in the house!... This week's theme for Tag Tuesday is "the chair". My first thought was "Well, I don't have any chair stamps, and I don't have any chair papers. What in the world can I pull out of my hat about a CHAIR?!.. Well, I puttered around cleaning my house, I washed some dishes, and somewhere in that time it dawned on me what was my favorite chair in the world. I got out my camera, I took a picture, then went on to my work space and craft supplies to create my tag!

My babies' high chair... Yes, I still have it. I could NEVER part with it, and there's no amount of money I would ever take for it! That chair reminds me of the greatest blessings God ever gave to me; and I am hopeful for "grand-blessings" somewhere down the road, someday, where many more meals and goodies can be had in that most cherished chair that I'll ever own.

Thanks to Rebecca, at Blog Challenge Garden, for hosting Tag Tuesday. I hope my visitors will stop over to see the creativity and beautiful artwork of all the participants in this weekly event!... Thanks to all for stopping by!

What A Hoot!

2011-03-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

I saw these little cuties in my blog travels one day, and just knew I had to try making some too! Here's one...

...and here's the other! Don't you love the little pigtails?!

Both were really quick, easy, and lots of fun to make, with just small amounts of yarn, some fiberfill, and a couple of good-sized wiggle eyes. You can find a quick how-to HERE, at Luna's place, My Crochet-Mis Tejidos.

One will sit on my desk, and the other will be shipped directly to one of my very best friends, who LOVES to collect owls. I know this will be a really nice surprise for her, when it gets there!.. Well, that's if she's not reading this post of course! (I've also got a package on it's way to my good friend Doris, over at Crocheting in Georgia! We were swap partners for an exchange of flower seeds! She should get that real soon!)

Another small project I worked on one night was a couple of fabric flowers! I could see where these might be almost addicting to make. They really are so easy to put together!.. But my one frustration was not having a strong enough thread... I've got to get more, and in at least another color or two... I like how this one looks on my mini album, based on The Wizard of Oz... (which I HOPE to show sometime soon! I'm going to try to better understand my camera, probably over the weekend.)

Love the shade of green I had for this flower.. So pretty!.. If you'd like to see how to make these flowers, HERE'S where a young man will teach you how it's done.. If I'm not mistaken, I believe he's only about 15 years old, but he's a definitely a rising star in the field of scrapbooking!! You can find his blog HERE.

Now, can you guess which album this next flower will be for?

Oh, yes!... Very soon, I will be starting my next mini-scrapbook movie album, based on the Twilight saga, and I can't wait! I'm having so much fun with these, that down the road I have plans for making more albums based on Gone With The Wind, and Harry Potter too!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Vintage Sewing Tag

2011-03-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

Recently, I thought I'd throw myself into yet another challenge. I've put together a tag for Tag Tuesday, now hosted by Rebecca, HERE at Blog Challenge Garden. The theme this week is "Vintage Sewing", and was I ready for this! I had my materials already set, really, saving a few scrappy bits and pieces I knew I'd want to use for the personal (all-about-me) scrapbook I've been working on.

This is the front of the tag.

I remember losing the manual to my very first sewing machine. I ordered a new one to come in the mail; and of course, didn't I just FIND the original later! I knew I could get away with cutting out a few bits and pieces of one of the copies, while still saving the other; and so you see the exact image of that very special machine! No bling or glitter on my tag... I look at this, and it is just perfect for my purposes. Most importantly, it makes me smile, for the happy memory that it brings.

I remember my mother had an old machine, and how I longed to make wondrous creations from it; but the machine did not work, despite my every effort and hope to somehow make it work. I guess it was not on my parents' priorities list to have it fixed, simply so that I could sew up a few Barbie outfits... Nor was it, perhaps, in their budget to fix it; so I did some farm work as a teenager, and probably a little babysitting at that same time, and finally I earned myself the money to buy my own machine! The image you see on my tag is that machine!... A Sears Kenmore sewing machine!... And so began my love for sewing, at right around the age of 16. On the back of my vintage sewing tag, you see a tag-in-a-tag, so that I can journal about what a treasure that was to me!

Busy as usual, there are other projects I'm working on at the moment, some I'll show soon, and some I CAN'T show yet, for various reasons... But here is one more little thing I made recently. I've seen these soda pop tab bracelets before, but finally found the time to throw a couple together!

Of course I wouldn't go wearing them to Governor's Ball, (ha! ha!)... but when do I ever go to THAT anyways?! What I love most about these, is they're inexpensive... I think they're cute, and you all KNOW I love making things with my own two hands! I recycled... Oh, and Kristen Stewart (Bella) wears them. (See HERE!)... So I'm "cool"!.. right?!!

Well, all that, and I have wrists (no lie!) that measure 5 3/4" around. Just TRY to find watches and bracelets, in the adults' section of a store, that come in that size!... Not likely! I have to have EVERYTHING adjusted! So, these were quick and fun anyways, and so far, I'm not breaking out from them! Hooray! I'm sure I'll be making more!... If you'd like to see how, if not for yourself, then for your kids/grandkids maybe... just go HERE, for a video tutorial! Head over to Textiles4You, where Kristy will show you some crochet ones she's made too!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by, and a special thanks to Rebecca for hosting Tag Tuesday... I look forward to participating again soon!

More Snow?!

2011-03-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning, looked out my window,

and much to my surprise...

...and slight disappointment,

I see Old Man Winter isn't ready to leave just yet!

My gosh, and "Good Grief"!.. He sure can be stubborn, if he wants to be!.. As I look out at the road and sidewalks, I can't believe my eyes, and here we were so excited for Spring! They say we're going to get at least another inch or so, and that we shouldn't even hope for warmer temps till at least some time next week! (Sigh)... But this should be no surprise, I guess, as it IS still only March. Around my neck of the woods, not even Father Time can boss Old Man Winter around! He's gonna come and go, just as he pleases; and he'll leave once and for all, when he's darn good and ready!

Well, we had a nice weekend, anyways, as I finally got to serve a nice St. Patrick's Day dinner with the kids! We had corned beef and cabbage, made to perfection (if I may say, thanks to my crock pot!)... I had fun adding a few extra "greens" to the menu. Here's our table just before I began to set out all the fixin's... You see the green cake towards the back of the table.

Here are some green corn muffins,

and green jello!

...and some green deviled eggs!

Did I get a little carried away?

I don't think so... Everything was delicious!

What is my joy? What gives me "abundance"?

Time with my family! I am truly blessed, and grateful!

Celebrate Oz

2011-03-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

Today Linda, at Olde Baggs 'n Stuft Shirts, is hosting her Celebrate Oz event; and with a great love for movies, and this one being one of my favorites, I couldn't resist joining in on the fun!

Timing was quite a coincidence too, I thought, because just around the time I'd first heard of this event, I had just purchased some Wizard of Oz scrapbooking papers to start a Wizard of Oz scrapbook-mini-album!

Well, hard as I tried, I'm afraid I couldn't finish my album on time, to show in its entirety, but I'll at least share a quick peek. The cover, so far, is made from the cover/sleeve of the 70th Anniversary DVD set I got for Christmas. I want to embellish it more eventually, with some flowers, glitters, or whatever... but I am so tickled with how the whole scrapbook is really coming together now!!!

As you could tell in my previous posts, showing the TP Roll Mini Albums I've done, takes a great deal of time and patience as I load every picture up for one post!... So I'm presently thinking I may either do a video or slideshow of some sort to show this album. You can better understand, perhaps, when I compare how a TP Roll mini album has FOUR pages, while my Wizard of Oz mini-album is composed of SIXTEEN pages, and at least that many tags to boot!

I am still in the process of embellishing it. It is made from business-sized envelopes. The whole album measures approximately 5" x 7" in size, with a thickness, I joke...

...comparable to that of a Scooby Sandwich!!!

Just last night, I was working on a little something for my "Dorothy page", and I still have to check, this morning, how dry/set they are!

They are a pair of Barbie shoes, which I've glittered in red sparkles to look like Dorothy's ruby slippers!! I will be using them as charms for this page of the album! Aren't they CUTE?!!

Well, while I'm still figuring out what way is best to post everything, when it's done, I thought I'd include another little Wizard of Oz somethin-somethin for the occasion... Honestly, I can't remember if I've posted these before, but if so, here they are again!

They are a set of wooden nutcrackers that each stand at about 14" tall, and I keep them atop my kids' shelves of children's storybooks!

They were a Christmas present to me one year, from my brother and sister-in-law, and I just think they are so sweet!

So, my friends, here you have it... Two posts in only a few days!!! I haven't done that in, who knows?.. how long?!! A big thank you to Linda for hosting this event! Be sure to visit her and all the others participating!

I hope you enjoyed your visit here, and I'm always happy to hear your comments! "Come out, come out, wherever you are" to leave one if you can!!.. Thanks for stopping by!

When Irish Hands Are Crafting...

2011-03-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

...sure 'tis why, this morn, I sing! So glad you could stop by today! Please, sit down, and help yourself to a wee cup of tea with me, won't you?

It's been a wee while since my last post, (this could be a long one!)... but sure and begorrah, I've been busy!... So here's what I've got to show you today!

Not more than a month ago, I ran across a website that hosts ATC swaps. What's an ATC? It's an artistic trading card! I'd seen some beautiful ones around Blogland before; but this time around, I thought I'd finally try my hand at it! Signing up at the Blissful ATC Swap blog didn't take long at all; and soon thereafter, I was assigned a swap partner, Susan, at Art of Mine! Next, I printed my copies of the given image for the month, I got out my scrapping supplies, and I began to make my very first ATC card!

This month's theme was based around the image shown below.

Participants use the given image/theme for the month in whatever design they are then inspired to make. "Silk", and the Chinese symbols led me to put together this little 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" ATC .

I thought it would be cute to send a little crocheted Kokeshi Doll, along with a few other goodies, to go with it! Susan has a picture of the rest on her blog, if you'd like to see; and if you'd like the pattern for the doll, you can find that HERE. Having already mailed Susan's out, here are the copies I made to save for myself!

Meanwhile, here is what Susan sent to me!

Isn't it amazing?!!

That blue thing on the bottom of the card you see, is actually a REAL, hand-dyed, cultivated silk cocoon!

In her enclosed note card, she directed me to gently shake it, where I could actually hear the deceased little inhabitant inside!!!... Well, Dear Son and I both thought that was pretty "COOL"!

Below the card you see a stamped piece of silk. Susan told me this was a very old vintage piece of silk she snipped and frayed for me. I love it, and anyone who knows me well enough, knows how much I love our fine-feathered little friends!

I had so much fun for my first ATC swap! I have to thank Wendy for assigning me a partner who was so friendly and helpful. Susan was wonderfully helpful to me, when sure enough, I had questions to ask, and she so very graciously took the time to show me the ropes! Here are some more goodies, as shown below...

that Susan sent, so that I would have some extra fun when participating in future ATC swaps! That was so sweet of her, I can't tell you how surprised and happy I was to find all this in the package she sent me! Thank you Susan!! You have indeed made my first ATC swap a very special one, and I'm so happy to have met you! To anyone who has not met Susan yet, be sure to visit her at her blog. She is a woman of very many wonderful talents, you will see!

Another very talented friend sent me this ATC card recently... Debbie, from Simply Debbie!! She, with Wendy, is one of the co-founders of the Blissfull ATC Swaps! Debbie was so encouraging and supportive as I pondered even joining in on this event!... Isn't this card she made beautiful?!!

Thank you so much Debbie!..

Or should I say, "Merci beaucoup!"... I love it!

So, I have now have a total of 3 ATC cards, and I believe that I can rightfully call this the beginnings of a new "collection"! My head is already spinning, thinking of where and what best way to display it! I absolutely treasure these little works of art, and am signed up for next month's swap already!

Well, in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, you'll remember I couldn't resist making ANOTHER mini scrap album for the occasion! Here it is. Below is the front cover.

The first page is a simple pocket with a tag.

Time was a crunch, and most of the tags are printed ones from ready-to-print images, HERE for instance, which I'm sure many of you will probably recognize, having seen or used them yourselves!

The next page you see a pocket frame made from the Graphic 45 "Once Upon a Springtime" paper collection. I can slide a photo into that, with the cutest little fairy perched as if she is peeking to see who it will be!

This next page is just a simple photo mat, with fancy-punched corners on a greenish textured cardstock...

with a wee Irish laddie strolling by, just for fun!

The next page, above, shows a band of bling holding a swivel-set of mini photo mats...

And on the shamrock at the right side of the page, you can see where I finally got to try out my new bottle of "Stickles"! When first finding my interest in scrapbooking, I heard a great deal about this product, and had to try it! Unfortunately, I used it on paper, instead of a quality cardstock, and it buckled the paper a bit, but that's o.k. I still like it fine enough!

Inside the pocket of this page I inserted a printed recipe card, where I can write down my recipe for Irish Soda Bread... and with that I added a plain white, blank photo tag. The next page is a simple little band with an irish rose, set on a photo mat. (Darn that sticky tape.. I love it, but NOT when it SHOWS through! Lesson learned, I will use another kind of adhesive, next time, when working with lace.)

Miniature photos are adorable, I think; but you don't want them ALL to be the size of a postage stamp, so full page mats are nice! Here's the tag I inserted into the side pocket of that page, with a place for a larger photo on the back of that...

This is the front of the last page.

You see the little charm I included? It is from an old set of claddaugh earrings I had, but couldn't wear anymore because of the terrible allergic reaction I got from them TWICE! Enough is enough, and I thought to use one here was a nice way to still keep them, instead of simply discarding them! Below is the back cover of my mini album...

...and the tags that filled the side pocket of this page.

My gosh, did I TELL you this post would be long?.. What are we on?.. our seventh wee cup of tea now?!! (I'm definitely wondering if video would be easier!)...

Finally, I'll show you the Shamrock potholder I made! I was glad to pick up my crochet hook to make this little Irish kitchen helper...

and I don't know why it took me till now to finally ever make one, but I'm very happy with how it came out!

You can find Priscilla Hewitt's pattern HERE, if you'd like to try it yourself!

Well, thanks so much for stopping by! I'm so glad we got to share a wee bit o' the holiday together! We're wearing our green 'round here today, but we'll be celebrating more with a nice Irish dinner during the weekend, and I'm really looking forward to that!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

It's a Girl's Prerogative

2011-03-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

Well, I told myself I wasn't going to make another one for this holiday, because I have so many other WIPs going right now, but would you just look at what came of such rock-solid determination!

That a girl! Stand firm in your decisions now.

Don't let anything break you.

O.K., O.K... Now, wait a minute. I can explain. You see... I was just having so much fun filling my Valentine's Day mini album with family photos, and well... It just looked so nice, full with happy family memories when I was done... And, gee... Everyone KNOWS how much I LOVE the holidays! I just couldn't resist! So I pulled out some of the greens in my craft supply stash, and I'm began to work on my St. Patrick's Day mini album! I had some hunter green cardstock on hand, but I didn't have a patterned paper; so HERE's where I found one.

In the meantime, I came across an AWSOME giveaway!!

It's a YEAR'S worth of scrapbooking kits! Being a newbie in the craft of scrapbooking, you just KNOW how great it would be to win this! So I signed right up, and am just crossing my fingers! You can do the same, if you want... Just click this link, WeScrap Kits...

...and you will be promptly directed in the right direction!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have You Met Abbie?

2011-02-27T22:09:00.000-08:00

While I have a couple of crochet projects in mind, my attention is still averted to scrapbooking for the moment. Recently, I ran across a challenge, hosted by Elsa, at Just A Few Designs.

She doodled a picture of a sweet little girl named Abbie, and decided she would share it with others! The challenge was to take a plain black and white print of this sketch, and then do with it what ever you want! The sky was the limit... Color her, paint her, stitch her... The choice was up to whoever wanted to join in.

I was very excited to sign up; but being new to this craft, my scrapbooking tools and supplies are still limited... which brings me to the subject of "the new man in my life"...

That gallant knight, in a brown uniform... The UPS man!... who comes to me with little packages of treasures!... Papers, stamps, or inks! I'm always so excited to see what he's bringing me next! My hero!! With each new tool or product he brings me, I learn a little bit more, and a little bit more. It's a slow process, unfortunately, considering my budget, but that's o.k.! I'm still having so much fun learning this new craft, even if it is in baby steps!

See below, for instance, a new technique I tried, using glimmer sprays and coarse salt on photo paper... Even Dear Son was impressed when he saw it! It wasn't so easy to catch the "glimmer" on camera, but it looks much nicer up close. I think it would be fun to try it again sometime in different colors.

If you're interested in trying it too, you can find the tutorial HERE.

...Well, having signed up for this challenge, my biggest concern now was only to do such an adorable little sketch like Abbie JUSTICE! Being a rookie, I was just hoping I could come up with something nice!... or "worthy" should I say...

I can at least say I have PLENTY of experience in coloring! I LOVED coloring and drawing when I was a kid, but just look at my colored pencils now! I haven't touched them in... well... more years than I even want to talk about! The funny thing is, as I was coloring with them, I was surprised at how relaxing I found it to be! I couldn't help smiling and thinking, "Gee, the next time I'm in some kind of menopausal mood-swing, maybe I should just get out the kids' old coloring books and a nice new box of Crayolas, right?! Hmmm... And while I'm considering this, I don't mean just some 8-count box of them. I want the big kahuna!... The 96-ct., or 120-ct. box at least!

Anyways, as I've mentioned before, I've been working on my own paper bag mini-album/scrapbook. At this point, I am working on pages, pockets and tags, with pictures of myself from when I was around 4 years old; so I thought a tag with Abbie, dressed in her little pajamas, ready for bedtime, with her little stuffed animals, was just perfect!

The front of the tag is strictly decorative, but I was happy to try my hand at blending inks around the sides and edges of this tag. (Remember, right now, just about every technique is new to me!)... The ribbon comes from an Advent Swap gift Emma gave me, this past Christmas! It's such a pretty shade of teal, and wish I had a hundred more yards of it!!.. The stamp I used is an Inkadinkado Spring mini clear stamp, from my local Joann crafts department... And of course, I had to add a little bling! The only thing I was a little shy (or should I say "chicken") to use was glimmer spray, but we'll discuss that another time.

The back of the tag (above) ALSO looks as though it is strictly decorative, with the moon, a picture of one of my favorite bedtime stories, and the prayer I used to say every night when I was a kid; but when you open the cover of my little storybook...

...you find that I've made myself a little place for journaling! The paper in the background of this side of the tag is titled "Fairy Dust" (Adornit, Carolee's Creations), but it looked enough like a starry night to suit my purposes! The magnets, I admit, aren't a very pretty touch, but they too serve their purpose.

Maybe I could do a bit more on it??... But all-in-all, I'm pretty happy with how my Abbie-scrapbook tag came out, and I definitely had fun making it! A big "Thank You!" to Elsa, for sharing her drawing, and hosting this challenge!

I was lucky that Dear Daughter could print out this image, so that I could complete my tag just in time; but I'm very happy to finally have a new printer of my own now! We have been needing one for a while, not just for craft purposes, but for home-schooling too!

Well, let me tell you!.. As soon as I got it home, I hooked it all up, and set it up, all by myself!

Ha! Ha! Ha!... I only had to make 3 hysterical phone calls, and 2 text messages to do it, but yes... It's NOW up and running!

Gosh, I know it's been a while since my last post. Hope everybody had a Happy Valentine's Day! We had a nice dinner that night, and Dear Daughter gave me this adorable lidded coffee mug and spoon! Isn't it cute?!

I can't believe St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner! The snow is still coming down around here, but we haven't lost hope for Spring to come soon!

Till next time, thanks so much for stopping by!

My Scrappy Valentines

2011-02-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

Pearl Baily is quoted as saying, "What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork." Well, I've been working with all kinds of papers for the last couple of weeks....

And this year, I ask, "Can't you have BOTH?!"

I made six TP Roll Mini Albums for Valentines Day 2011. Five are for gifts, and one is for me! Each album has 4 pages... each page being a flattened, painted and papered, recycled bath tissue roll or paper towel roll.

I used four different flowers for the front cover. One is gathered lace, one is crocheted, and one is a pearly glimmer-sprayed paper flower with a miniature silk rose in the center.

I made my own pearly glimmer spray, and used it not only on the flower, but on a quarter section of a paper doily, which made for a corner pocket that holds a miniature postcard. Remember, every page is approximately 2 1/2" by 4 1/4", so everything is pretty much "miniature"!

The front of the next page serves as a photo mat, but is also a flap that can be opened to reveal more space for pictures and journaling. Attached to the flap is a small paperclip with a red glittered heart, to use on this page, or anywhere else in the album.

In the pocket of the first and second pages are two tags... I chose to make one a little "naughty" looking! Woo-hoo! If I'd had more time, I would have added some lace, or corset laces; but not enough time, and these will have to do as they are... In the middle of the two tags is a mini-mini booklet, again for journaling and/or photos.

As you can see, I now have some new stamps to make the tickets, and an EK Tools edger punch. The next page I kept simple, serving only as a photo mat background.

Here are the tags and tickets I made for the pockets between these two pages. The little girl stamp on the heart tag is my first attempt at " heat embossing".

I made 4 swiveling sets of lips, in their various shades of lipstick colors, so that they can be used for pictures and/or journaling. I think the challenge is fun in finding and making ways to turn a small space into LOTS of space!

This next page has an envelope...

that unfolds into 4x more space..
(More, actually, if you include the back!)

I like how this tag came out... simple but cute, I think. A larger photo, or journaling can be placed on the back of the tag.

And I always like to add a current coin or stamp into these kinds of scrapbooks, for whatever reason, for just a little added somethin'-somethin' to save and remember I guess. This was the current Valentines Day postage stamp for the year, so I thought it would make for a cute little embellishment!

Here is the back cover of the album.

Tucked behind the band of ribbon, on each album, I have a small tag where I will jot personal notes to the recipients. Then I will add my small signature at the bottom right corner, and from there, I just hope everyone likes them! I had so much fun making them!

I'm cooking up a special dinner tonight. It smells so good, I can hardly wait!

Wishing everybody a very Happy Valentine's Day!!