.

25 ways to wear a scarf...

2011-11-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

Emilie posted this on her blog. She asks the question if a chesty girl can wear a scarf? I say YES she can!

Salvation Army Hutch

2011-10-25T22:57:00.000-06:00

I got this hutch for $47.00 at our local Salvation Army. I got lucky and caught it at a 50% sale. In it's original state it was not bad but just looked somewhat outdated. I sanded it down and primed it and then painted it a very pale turquoise blue and then put a Burnt Sienna glaze over it. I did not put the glaze on the inside because I wanted the inside to be darker. I also painted the original knobs and pulls and put the glaze on them as well. The glaze does not look orange in real life like it does in the photo. I think it turned out awesome - espeically for a first time project. It replaced the generic hutch that I bought at a thrift store when we got married 17 years ago. That hutch is currently being painted pale pink and will replace the ugly Oak Express shelves currently in my daughter's room. That project was a little more labor intensive because I had to do some things to make it look like it belongs in a girls room and not in a dining room. It's almost done and I will be posting photos soon.

Sew What You Love: The Easiest, Prettiest Projects Ever

2011-10-05T08:03:00.000-06:00

Tanya at Grand Revival Designs has a book available for pre-order at Barnes&andNoble and at Amazon . Go check out the book then go to Tanya's blog to find out how to receive a free down-loadable bag pattern. Enjoy!

Hello Floyd

2011-07-25T10:35:00.000-06:00

Meet the newest member of our family ~ Floyd Walnut ~ we adopted him Saturday evening. They say time heals all wounds and apparently so does a new kitten. I was planning on waiting a while before looking for another cat/kitten. However, we all decided that maybe we should look. I'm glad we did, he is very sweet and laid back. Right now he has an upper respiratory infection and we have to give him meds every day. I think that once he feels better he might be more active and play more. Oh, and he got the middle name of "Walnut" because that we his name when we adopted him and we felt he should keep it as part of his name. We got him at the Denver Dumb Friends League I highly recommend them if you are looking for a new pet.

Good bye Maggie Mae

2011-07-21T19:20:00.000-06:00

Today we had to say goodbye to Maggie Mae - I knew when found her this afternoon that today would be her last day with us. She was my cat for a long-long time and she lived a good life. She outlasted boyfriends and jobs; she was with me longer than I have been married. She lived 19 years and that is old for a cat. It will be hard to get used to not having her here with me. Grace cried and sobbed and carried on - then in the next breath asked for a kitten. Something tells me she will recover from this trauma.

Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July

2011-07-03T21:37:00.000-06:00

american flag clip art found HERE

More Hollywood Studios

2011-07-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

Me and Grace in front of the Large Wizards hat at Hollywood Studios. I used paper from Cosmo Cricket - Circa 1934 line and the polka dot paper is from Daily Junque ( I think). The Circa 1934 line has exactly the look that to me reflects Disneyworld - especially along Mainstreet USA and Hollywood Studios. This layout was based on this Layout.

The layout to the right is based on a sketch found HERE. I used paper from Daily Junque and Cosmo Cricket-Circa 1934 and I used the Cricut (Alphalicious) for the title. Coming up next: The Tower of Terror!

Hollywood Studios

2011-06-29T15:34:00.000-06:00

We didn't spend much time at Hollywood Studios and I wish that we would have - I found out after we came back from our trip that we missed a lot of what there was to do there. Oh well, there's always next time!

Epcot

2011-06-28T16:19:00.000-06:00

I'm on a roll getting these Disneyworld pages done! I think {hope} that this is
the last of Epcot - then I will be be working on Hollywood Studios!

Finding Nemo at Epcot

2011-06-27T16:58:00.000-06:00

These are scraplifted from a layout I found (cannot remember whose it was) and changed, of course, to suit my photos and my style :)

Disneyworld

2011-03-29T13:42:00.000-06:00

More pages done - working steadily towards the goal of doing at least one page a day. So far so good. AS much as we enjoyed Disneyworld and as much as I enjoy doing the pages; I am ready to be done with the scrapbook and move on to other photos waiting for me.

I don't like the way the title looks on this one - should I change it for a larger font from the Cricut? I think so and it will bug me until I correct it. :)

Digital pages

2011-03-18T14:39:00.000-06:00

A digital scrapbook by Smilebox

My girl with a new hair cut and a dress I made this weekend

2011-03-14T11:36:00.000-06:00

She got a new "Do" this weekend and she loves it - no more tangles. I think the cut is totally her style. I first saw this dress at One Crafty Mumma and the pattern is from Sisboom. A very easy dress to make and very versatile, it can be made with short or long or bell sleeves and it can be any length you want.

Disclaimer: I just like the pattern, I have not received anything in return for giving it two thumbs up

Magazine Giveaway

2011-03-13T12:07:00.000-06:00

Mary Ann at A Joyful Chaos is having a giveaway for a one year subscription to Family Life magazine. This is an Amish published magazine. Go HERE if you would like to enter for a chance to win,

Parade pages

2011-02-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T09:49:00.002-07:00

This is a skirt I whipped up for Grace to wear to school today. It was made based on a tutorial I found on the internet. Sorry I can't remember whose Tut is was. The skirt is made out of a size xl T-shirt that I got at Hobby Lobby using a 40% coupon, so it was very cheap. For something that took very little effort and about 30 minutes to make, I think it came out very cute - or maybe its the model that makes it cute? ;)

Wishes Nighttime Spectacular

2011-02-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

Fabulous fireworks at Disneyworld. It was well worth waiting in the crowds to see.

Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it!

2011-02-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

This was the first parade we saw when we got to Disneyworld. Grace really enjoyed the parades.

2011-02-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

More from the "Not So Scary Halloween Party" The fireworks were incredible.

Donald's Safari Breakfast

2011-02-04T19:54:00.004-07:00

More of breakfast at the Tusker House. These photos were taken by Disneyworld photographers. I used the cricut fon "Opposites Attract". I apologize that my photo is so blurry - the lighting was crappy.

Breakfast at the Tusker House

2011-02-04T15:16:00.003-07:00

We ate breakfast at the Tusker House in Africa {Animal Kingdom} on our last day in DisneyWorld. We had already eaten there for dinner on Wednesday for Nicks birthday and the food was horrible. We almost canceled the breakfast but because this would be our last chance to meet Donald, Daisy,Goofy and Mickey we decided to go anyway. The food at breakfast was much better and we had a good time.

Castle Spootacular

2011-02-03T13:53:00.003-07:00

I really like how this one turned out. It is pretty much scraplifted from someone else {if I remember who, I will update and give them credit}. I'm pretty proud of how the photo came out. Oh, and the skull in the center bottom is my son.

2011-02-03T13:48:00.001-07:00

Just a few more pages that I got done from our trip to Disneyworld. These are also from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party.

Walt DisneyWorld layouts

2011-01-24T13:43:00.005-07:00

Photos we had taken right after we arrived at the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Grace was the only one who dressed up and after we got there we all wished we would have as well. The party was fun and I would definitely recommend going to it at least once. I realized once I loaded up the top layout that the purple cardstock does not match the purple circles in the strip going across - this will bug me but I am just lazy enough to not change it.

What I made today...

2011-01-03T15:35:00.002-07:00

Crochet Christmas tree ornaments. They turned out ok, with more practice I think I can make better ones. The instructions were found here at Attic24.

The red and while ones are for a friend who does a red and white tree.
Hope she likes them!

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T18:10:00.010-07:00

★˛˚˛*˛°★Happy 2011!!!★* 。*★* ˛.*.★*.˛* .˛。*.★.*˛.¨*.★
˛°_██_*.。*./ \ .˛* .˛。.★ **˛HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011**
˛. (´• ̮•)*.。*/♫.♫\*˛.* ˛_Π_____.!!! FROM MY HOME ★*.★
.°( . • . ) ˛°./• '♫ ' •\.˛*./______/~＼*. ˛*.。˛*★*TO YOURS *(...'•. .) * ╬╬╬╬╬˛°｜田田｜門｜╬╬╬╬╬*♥ LOVE ♥.*.*★*.★**PEACE*

Linus sings The Police

2010-12-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Happiness is...

2010-12-13T10:27:00.002-07:00

finding 5 Cashmere sweaters at Goodwill and one really fuzzy Angora sweater all for $3.99 each! Three of these babies were size 3x; the Holy Grail of sizes for sweater felting if you ask me. I will be making wool mittens and the Cashmere will make such a soft, luxurious lining for them. The angora sweater is going to be made into one of these for my daughter for Christmas. The one I am making will just be a really fuzzy version of the bunny and I'm going to do the lining of the ears with a small holiday print fabric and give it a holiday bow around the neck.

In Loving Memory...

2010-10-15T19:03:00.006-06:00

: Nelda Sue Halboth:
December 16, 1937 ~ October 14, 2010
In just 3 days I went from believing that we had
at least few years with her to just coming to terms
that it would only be a few months at best - to being
told she only had hours or maybe a few days to live.
My first thought this morning was to call her and tell her
something funny that had happened yesterday.
{I will miss her}
My mom:

A sarcastic sense of humor
A funny little snicker when she was tickleing my cats feet
She was an awesome cook
Was a registered nurse, but told me that if she had not passed the
test to get into nursing school that she would have been a hair dresser
Married to my dad 47 years
Loved her grandchildren - Nick, Grace and Hank
Knew how to give the best gifts
Loved to work in her flower garden
Was kind
Liked to shop and was good at finding bargains
Loved going to garage sales
Liked antique pottery
Liked toffee
She will be missed by so many people.
I would like to thank Jeanne for being with her and my dad
every step of the way.

Vacation ...From a Year Ago

2010-09-14T16:48:00.003-06:00
Just starting on scrapping our vacation to Mesa Verde from a year ago. I am so behind I think I'm ahead!
This page completely scrap lifted from a kit I got from an Archiver's scrapmania night - The Cricut font for the word vacation is Alphalicious and the Mesa Verde font is Songbird.

2010-09-11T20:10:00.002-06:00
This one was supposed to be titled Sleeping Beauty but I couldn't make it work so I just went with Sleeping.

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-09-08T13:49:00.003-06:00

The multi-hour layout

2010-09-05T20:54:00.005-06:00

This has got to be one the longest lay outs time-wise that i have ever done. It took most of the afternoon. Of course I did get side tracked on the computer while journaling but still....

The basic idea came from The Paper Orchard. I love her pages. I pretty much scraplifted this one right down to the title because it was a title that actually worked for this layout. In stead of sticker for the title I used an alphabet from www.LetteringDelights.com - an alphabet called Hodgepodge, I did add more photos because I just gotta cram as many on a page as possible - thats just how I roll.
Anyway, it makes me kind of sad when I look at this layout because my mother is no longer capable of getting out and doing fun things like this and I hope my kids will remember the fun times when she was able to do stuff with them.

Stalking Good Will

2010-09-04T15:09:00.004-06:00
Lately I have become a fan of all the blogs out there that take a used piece of furniture and paint it and turn it into something new and fantastic. They have inspired me to do a fiew pieces myself. I started with my daughters head board and dresser then on to a shelf for the kitchen. About a month ago I found this china cabinet at Salvation Army for $95.00. Well, I'm cheap {frugal} and I didn't want to pay that much. I got on the good side of one of the sales people there and she clued me in about when the next 50% off sale would be - I got there right as they opened that day and whoopeee the china cabinet was still there and I got it for $47.50. It's worth that. So the drawers are sanded and primed and now I need to decide what color to paint it. Twice Lovely just posted a hutch that they painted Celery by Krylon and then rubbed a glaze over. I love it and I am doing that to my China Cabinet only using Wythe Blue at Benjamin Moore. Its really not as dark as it appears on their website. I'm just not sure if I am adding too much color to my house but it really needs to be jazzed up its getting boring to old lady looking.
Wish me luck on getting it all done this weekend! Oh, and it's solid wood and made of cherry {I think} and very heavy. My dad will have a cow when he hears that I painted cherry wood instead of just staining it. Yep - I'm living dangerously!

How to Make Corn Cob Jelly

2010-09-03T09:13:00.000-06:00
This recipe was on Suzanne's blog today - just sharing in case there is someone out there in blog land who likes to make unusual jelly! I'm going to give it a try. I'll let you know how it turns out :)

How to Make Corn Cob Jelly -

Granny Square Love

2010-08-19T13:22:00.004-06:00

It took me all winter and most of the summer to make this blanket. I don't really crochet that slow but I only worked on this blanket while waiting in the car to pick up my daughter from kindergarten for a total of 15-20 minutes each day. It's all wool and very heavy. Not too bad for my first try. Some squares turned out somewhat larger than others so I just sprayed water on the larger squares and threw the blanket in the dryer to shrink up a little bit. Worked like a charm! Gotta love wool.

Furniture Projects

2010-08-14T11:34:00.002-06:00
Our church had a "Really Really Free Garage Sale" today and they had so much cool stuff. I got this love seat for FREE! There was a matching one but someone else snagged it before I could so I made sure to get this one. I plan on painting it either white, black, Celery green or a light teal, I have not decided yet and I will also cover the custions with a much more modern fabric with celery green, tan and a teal print. I want to try and sell it but I know I'm gonna want to keep it for myself. I do not need more furniture in this house!
And about a month ago I bought this oak shelf at good will - $14 bucks plus $10 in spray paint = a much needed shelf for my kitchen. While painting this I did figure out why I never see painted oak pieces - oak is a real pain to paint and seemed to just soak up the paint even with primer on it. Its not the best painting job but it came out ok.

Floor Pillow

2010-08-11T14:22:00.003-06:00
I found a tutorial to make these floor pillows HERE at Living With Punks. Since this was a trial run I just used some sheets I found at Salvation Army. I made two and my kids love them. I think they need to be stuffed a little tighter and they look lumpy but I think that is because the material I used is thin. Probably if I used decorator fabric the lumps from the stuffing would not show up as much. The 4 year old girl that I watch everyday wants me to make her a skirt out of the striped material. The stripes are totally her and I will post a photo when I get it done. :)

Fall Skirt

2010-08-06T19:08:00.002-06:00

I made this skirt for my daughter - it's corduroy with a very fine ribbing so its not too bulky. There was no pattern just a mish-mash of ideas from different tutorials that I found on the internet. Very easy and fast to make. She looks too cute in it but she refused to model.

Fabric love

2010-08-06T19:00:00.003-06:00
I house sat for a friend who was lucky enough to be able to spend the summer in Australia - and looky what she brought me! Half yards of Japanese shirting fabric!!

This one {below} is my favorite!

Foodie Friday

2010-07-30T11:32:00.002-06:00
My mom is a master at taking left overs and making them into something quite tasty for the next meal and when ever she makes something I make her write down exactly how she makes it. This includes the ingredients and the process - I do this because I never paid attention when she was trying to teach me how to cook when I was in high school and because she has her own way of cooking food and it almost always comes out great! Here is her recipe for Pork & Chili:

PORK & CHILI BY NELDA

INGREDIENTS:
Left over pork loin - cut into cubes (about 1 lb cooked)
Approx. 1 cup canned tomatoes or tomato sauce
1/2 onion - diced medium fine
1 can Rotel
1 can mild chilies (or hot if you like it spicy)
Tortillas

PROCESS:
Cook all ingredients together (except tortillas) - probably will need to add some water 1/2 - 3/4 cup.
Let simmer; salt and pepper to taste.
Mix 1/2 cup flour with 3/4 cup water (she uses a tupperware shaker) and stir into chili.
Let simmer to thicken up chili some. If the chili is too thin add more flour mixed with water and if the chili is too thick add just a little more water (no flour).

Taste and adjust hotness to suit.

Serve with flour tortillas, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream.

New "old" furniture for Gracies Room

2010-07-22T12:41:00.004-06:00

The headboard came from Goodwill and it was $24.99, the posts and top part are wood and the center is laminated wood. It is a very heavy piece and is stamped "Made in America" on the back - you rarely see that statement anymore! I forgot to take a before photo but trust me, it looks much better painted antique white. The dresser I got about 5 years ago at a garage sale for 20 bucks and it has been setting in Grace's closet and it was funky blue color with red painted knobs - quite ugly. And finally the mirror above the dresser is something I picked up at a garage sale about 16 years ago for $5.00. I'm not an expert at painting furniture but I am learning fast and even though some of the paint bubbled when I put the protective coating on - I was able to fix it somewhat and I think it came out pretty good for a first try.

Another Tunic

2010-07-18T12:45:00.003-06:00

I like the color combination on this one better and I like the ruffle around the neck and no ruffle on the bottom. One more top to go and it also uses a tank but it is much different.

A Girls Tank Tunic

2010-07-17T19:20:00.004-06:00
Made this for my daughter today. I think it turned out cute but I'm not sure she thinks its cute and is just humoring me. No matter, she will be wearing it anyway :)
I found the tutorial on how to make this HERE
It's fairly easy to make and the tutorial is a good one, but you kinda need to fill in the blanks on some of the steps on the Tutorial. I will be making a couple more of these in different colors and now that I know what I am doing I will be adding some ruffles around the neck; I did not on the first one because I was feeling a little intimidated by the whole process.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-30T13:18:00.001-06:00

2010-06-20T09:04:00.001-06:00
Happy Father's Day!

Teachers Gifts

2010-06-01T14:39:00.004-06:00
I made these little zippered pouches to give to the kids teachers at the end of the year. I'm going to put a gift card for a book store in each one. The pouches are great to keep in your bag to hold small things. I made one for myself and I love it. You can find the directions Here at: Skip To My Lou.

The pouches are super easy to make and the directions are very clear.

Mental Block

2010-05-14T18:34:00.002-06:00
I want to make SOMETHING - anything but I am having a block. I want to sew something or scrapbook or make a card, or knit or crochet but I can't get motivated.

So here I sit - drinking a Pina Colada while I try and get motivated. Hmmm, don't think that colada is gonna make me any more energetic.

Happy Birthday To Meeee....

2010-04-09T14:04:00.006-06:00
Ok - it was MY birthday and I ended up making my own Birthday cake because if I leave it up to my husband he will go get an ice cream cake and I dont like those. The cake sank in the middle and in spite of my awful cake decorating skills the cake itself was delicious. I also ordered some really cute Japanese print fabric from TheHeyDayShop on Etsy. The fabric arrived on my birthday - Yippee! I had a coupon code for free shipping. You can find the code HERE at One Crafty Mumma - just scroll down. The code is good for the month of April. I found the shipping to be fast and the fabric too cute for words. One interesting thing: Its Japanese fabric but the post mark was from China - lol. I have no idea what I am going to make with the fabric - I guess for now I will just find my happiness in the ownership ha ha. I also signed myself up for a crochet class and husband got me a Motorola Cliq phone - so it was a good birthday.

A Small Needle Felting Project

2010-04-06T16:22:00.003-06:00
I made this little Tissure holder today, mainly because I wanted to try my hand at needle felting. This is the first time I have ever needle felted and I think it came out pretty good even though I can see some spots where the wool is not completely felted in. I think with practice I will get much better at this - I'm definitely hooked on it!
I found the instructions for the tissue holder HERE. The background is cream wool and I used some roving and some felted wool for the needlefelting. I'm planning on making more to give as presents

Scrapbooking

2010-03-15T10:55:00.002-06:00
Went to Archiver's a few weeks ago, got a lot done but they are not the most creative pages. I guess I just wanted to get them done. I put them in 3 separate posts because Blogger would not let me upload that many photos at once, so scroll down if you want to see them all. I think the tornado one needs something just not sure what.

And More Pages...

2010-03-15T10:53:00.001-06:00

Pages, pages, pages

2010-03-15T10:48:00.002-06:00

Fabric Pinwheels

2010-03-01T16:32:00.006-07:00

My big bare teal wall in my guest room finally has something on it! I found a free pattern/instructions HERE and made them today. The hardest part of making them was deciding what fabric combo to use. Instead of glueing down the corners to the center I punched a hole in the corners that would be glued down and I punched a hole in the center of the pinwheel and then I put a brad through all the layers of the corners that get turned in to the center and then but that same brad through the hole in the center of the pinwheel. Once I find some cool buttons I will hot glue them over the brad in the center. To attach the pinwheels to the wall, I took clear push pins and put them under each folded sections of the pinwheel and stuck it to the wall. Clear as mud? The largest pinwheel is 18 inches, the next size down is 12 inches the two bottom ones are 9 inches and the smallest is 6 inches.

I also made the throw pillows on the bed - but not today, I'm fast but not THAT fast! lol

I Spy With My Little Eye...

2010-03-01T11:13:00.004-07:00
A tutorial! I found a tutorial to make I Spy bags at "Craftiness is Not Optional" . I have made two so far and they are very easy to make. I would suggest looking at places like Oriental Trading Company for the little goodies to put in the bags. I used left over toys from around the house and a few things I found at Hobby Lobby and Big Lots.

My machine had a hard time sewing the vinyl and the fleece until I figured out that when sewing with the vinyl facing up was making it stick to the sewing foot. So i sewed the 2nd one with the vinyl down and the fleece facing up and it sewed like a dream. Click HERE to go to her blog.

Meet Helga

2010-02-28T10:54:00.005-07:00
Helga - she enjoys Monster Truck Rallys and home improvement shows. Don't let her physique fool you, she is all woman and if you doubt it she will wrestle you to the ground and give you a wedgie.

Blog Candy - No not me !

2010-02-24T08:37:00.002-07:00
Bunny-Zoe's Blog is having a Blogoversary giveaway. Go here to enter.

Can you say Ugly?

2010-02-09T15:22:00.003-07:00
I have been wanting to make my daughter a pajama bag. I searched patterns at the fabric store and the internet and came to the conclusion that there just is not much out there. There were several rather scary looking clown bags. I found this vintage cat on Etsy.com and ordered it. The pattern was hard to put together and the cat came out really UGLY! I'm just stubborn enough to try it again but I need to think about how I can change it so the pieces fit together better and so it's actually cute. My daughter liked it or else she was just too kind to say anything negative - lol.

2010-02-09T15:21:00.001-07:00

More Scrapbook Pages

2010-02-01T11:32:00.004-07:00
More photos of my daughter taken by my friend Erin. She did a great job considering the orneryness she had to work with. Thanks Erin!

Be sure and scroll down past this post for the rest of the pages - blogger would not let me post them all in one post ;(

Some Scrapbook Pages

2010-02-01T11:29:00.003-07:00

Hoot!

2010-01-24T18:59:00.002-07:00
As part of De-stashing (is that a word?) my craft stuff I made this little owl. The original idea used scrapbook paper but I wanted to make it out of some felted wool and other cotton material that I had on hands. The owl fits perfectly on 12x12 scrapbook paper. I plan on framing it and hanging it on the wall. The original idea and pattern can be found HERE.

Cupcakes anyone?

2010-01-14T14:13:00.003-07:00
This cupcake was made from Betz White's book Warm Fuzzies. I thought it came out ok and best of all it has no calories!

Flower Loom

2010-01-14T10:43:00.006-07:00

I bought a vintage flower loom last week and the instructions basically suck! So I have been searching the web for better instructions and ran across this video on UTube. The back ground is noisy but the instructions are great. Go HERE to see the video. Since I am blogger incompetent I can't figure out how to put the actual video on my blog.

The blue flower with white center was my first attempt. On the other two I used some fuzzy-ish yarn I like how the last two turned out. They have more texture and are just more interesting to look at.

Just Two more...

2010-01-13T11:47:00.002-07:00
Two more pages from last Saturday. The tree page is made from all the Christmas cards we received this year. I saw this idea on the internet (of course) but I don't remember from where so I can't give credit where it is due.

Scrapbook pages

2010-01-13T10:31:00.003-07:00
Just some pages I did at Archiver's last Saturday. Apparently I cannot get more than 4-6 pages done in 6 hours. Too much shopping and socializing going on. The bottom 3 photos were taken by my friend Erin, she is just starting up a photograhy business and Grace was her test subject. Grace did well until the end then she became a royal stinker. The top photo was from this summer - also by Erin.

Today...

2010-01-05T10:01:00.002-07:00
Yesterday was the start of being more healthy and getting active. Yesterday I made out a healthy menu for the week and My goal is to cut out the snacking. Yesterday I did pretty good.

Today after my kids left for school and my two girls that I watch went to preschool I took my huge hiney to the Rec Center for some weight lifting. I tried to talk myself out of it many times but in the end I went and I am proud.

It was "Sweaty Old Man Day" at the rec center. Apparently all the old men in my town go to work out at 9 am. Thursday I'm going to the Field house instead for some reason the Sweaty Old Men don't go there!

Angels and Package Bow

2009-12-06T12:52:00.008-07:00
Just a few more items made from the class by Betz White . I haven't made all all the projects and probably won't before Christmas - just not enough hours in the day.

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas

2009-11-17T14:47:00.003-07:00
I made these trees and pinecone ornaments from a class called Felt and Stitch Holiday that was offered by Betz White. She offered this work shop earlier this fall and I was not able to take it at that time, so I was excited when she offered it again. The pine cones are going to be part of teachers gifts for Christmas. The little trees I am keeping for myself.

I really need to be working on making some Christmas cards but I go side tracked by the cuteness of these.

A Bag - A Tale of Calluses, pricked fingers and frustration

2009-11-17T14:29:00.003-07:00
Ok, so I decided to knit some wool and felt (or full it if you want the correct term) and make a pattern and make a fall bag for myself. Sounds pretty straight forward - right? Wrong! It took 6 balls of wool to knit up enough to make the bag. (Not Cheap even with a 40% coupon to Hobby Lobby) Then I over felted it and it came out of the washer really thick. I cut out the pattern and sewed it up and it STRETCHED while I was sewing it *cry*. I cut a strap off an old bag and sewed it on. My stitches are crooked on it and I just don't care. I found some cotton in my stash of fabric that had the right colors for the lining. I whipped up the lining which came out ok. I shoulda put a zippered pocket in the lining but I'm afraid of putting in zippers. The thought of putting in a zipper makes me want to run screaming from the room. I'm sure I hear my mom laughing at me over this silly little fear. I poked my fingers with the needle and pins many times while sewing the lining into the bag. Oh, and I have a huge calluss on my middle finger from hours and hours of knitting. In the end I kind of like the bag. Tell me does it look ok or is it really ugly and I am just in denial? If you got any tips on doing something like this I want to hear them!

From Foggy to snowy in just a matter of days

2009-10-31T12:35:00.003-06:00
Welcome to life in Colorado!

2009-09-25T18:46:00.004-06:00
From regular old wool sweaters to fabulous felted wool sweaters all in one day!
Now, what to make with them?

I also got some nice buttons off the sweaters and I felted the seams to see how they would turn ou. I think I might be able to find a use for the seams because they felted up pretty tight.

More sightings of Indiana Jones

2009-09-23T09:09:00.003-06:00
I have been finding Indiana Jones is strange places sround my house, so I have started taking pictures every time I find him.

I finally got this throw done. It turned out quite nice. I'm thinking some for Christmas presents but only to those I know appreciate this kind of thing. Nothing is more annoying/frustraiting that to spend hours making something for someone only to have them toss it aside like yesterdays garbage. The backing to this throw is some heavy weight material I had on hand, I think it needs ot be tacked down to the front of the throw but I don't want to quilt it. Anyone got ideas on what would work? I went a little heavy on the leave applique, I tend to do that when I like something.

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A productive weekend...

2009-09-21T13:07:00.004-06:00
I knitted this weekend, I'm making a felted wool tote. It's my own design so it may not turn out like I hope it will. I'll let you know. I also worked on that Bucilla Christmas project - such a pain, but it will be cute when I get it done. The little seed beads keep coming lose - it's gotta be the felt, it has too much give.

And finally, I started on a wool throw. In a dark corner of my basement are piles of felted wool sweaters just waiting for a project. This is the first one, if turns out the way its supposed to then there will be more for Christmas presents. The idea came from here I bought her book "Warm Fuzzies" at Hobby Lobby about a week ago. Hobby Lobby made me mad because they changed their coupons and you can't use them on books or magazines anymore. I still bought the book - lol.

SNOW

2009-09-21T10:44:00.001-06:00
Yes friends and neighbors - its snowing here in Denver.

2009-09-15T20:18:00.001-06:00

I walked into my bedroom yesterday and found this - Indiana Jones hanging upside down from my dresser doorknob - To bad it was not the real deal - lol.

Day 12 & 13

2009-09-14T11:40:00.004-06:00
A good friend gave me a huge box of her late mothers craft items,there were knitting needles (so I learned to knit), there are several quilt kits, cross stitch and several Bucilla craft kits. So instead of buying a craft kit, I dug out this one and started on it. If I am really lucky it will be done by Christmas. Some of the craft kits she gave me are defintely are from the 70's and I think they will be fun to do just because they look so dated.

Day 10...

2009-09-11T16:00:00.003-06:00
Ok, so I skipped a bunch of days in Using What I have, but I contemplated making a bunch of stuff - Does that count? I decided to make package tags this year instead of buying them. Nothing too fancy but I think they look pretty good. They will do the job. :)

2009-09-03T11:34:00.003-06:00
So for the 3rd day of the Use What You Got challenge from Maggie Grace Creates I made some more cards. I used some stamps that I just had to have but never used and I also used some paper that was a "bargain" again I never used it. This was sc243 from a few days ago. I really like the layout of this card and may be using it for Christmas cards. Not too sure about the flower on the Hokey Pokey card but it needed something. The dressed up bunny card needs a saying, I need to go through my enormous stash of stamps and find one, but I'm really too lazy to do it right now. lol

Random photo

2009-09-01T10:38:00.003-06:00
This is what I found when I opened my freezer door last night. Should we eat them for dinner or are they dessert? My son's explantion? He likes his blankets cold when he goes to bed.

P.S. Please do not look too closely at my very messy freezer, It is on my to-do list to clean out. I am normally not such a slob or at least I try not to let anyone see that side of me lol.

SC243

2009-08-31T16:33:00.003-06:00
Since I'm in the card making mode I decided to do a Split Coast Stampers card sketch challenge. I decided to do the most current one I could find - SC243. I'm fairly happy with the way this one turned out. I can see that I need to work on my coloring skills. I wanted to add some black brads but decided to leave them off since I will be mailing this card to someone. I got the paper at Tuesday Morning and I am clueless on who made it. The stamp is a Fluffles that I got at Michaels this weekend. I used the Stampin Up water color pencils to color the stamped image. The ribbon is just something I had on hand and I used it up - Yay! One more craft item gone from my stash. Woot.

LPSC31 Sketch

2009-08-31T16:03:00.003-06:00
I always check out the LPS sketches that Allison of Stampin When I Can always posts on her blog. I decided to try one out today. As you can see I did not follow the sketch completely - I forgot the bracket thingy and I did not put the sentiment in the oval and the bottom. There was just not enough room on my card. I might do another one later and see if I can fit all those elements on the card.

Using What You Got

2009-08-31T09:34:00.004-06:00
Maggie Grace Creates has issued a challenge to crafters everywhere! Take the 30 days in September and use what you got - use it up! Don't buy anything new.

I plan on doing scrapbook pages just using the paper and embelishments that I already have on hand. I plan on making some cards using the stamps I already own. No new stamps. I did kind of cheat this weekend and bought a stamp at Michaels, but it was a Fluffles and I can't resist them. I have fabric and felted wool coming out my ears, I have to use it and make do with what I have. I am going to try and make something each day because that it the only way the stuff I have collected over the years will get used. I hope to post photos of what I am working one each day.

Shrine to the Broncos Gods

2009-08-26T19:06:00.002-06:00
This is what I found on our couch last Saturday just before the Broncos game - a shrine. My son, who is nine, had this all set up so he could watch the game. What can I say? He loves his team!

Cupcake Placemats

2009-08-14T11:11:00.002-06:00
I made these placemats for a good friend for her birthday. I hope she likes them! The pattern is by Susie C Shore. I have made several things from her patterns and they are all cute and girly and a lot of fun.

Market Bag...

2009-08-07T19:24:00.006-06:00
This is my little effort to start going green. I bought the pattern off Etsy.com and I really like the bag. It was a very easy bag to make but the directions weren't exactly clear in some places and I had to tear it apart twice because some steps were left out. It's a good thing I have some experience in sewing - lol. The bag is fairly large and would be good for boxed items or bread but not heavy items like cans. I am going to see if I can downsize it a litte.

The pattern recommended that material from something like an old denim dress be used, but that just sounds a little too plain; so I dug out some old tablecloths that belonged to my grandmother and used one of them to make the bag. She was a thrifty person so I think she would appreciate how I recycled the tablecloth.

Oh So Pretty...

2009-07-17T09:14:00.003-06:00

Tina over at TravelingMama had a give away that I entered and {Won!} - Woot!

Be sure to hop on over to her blog and check out her awesome crafts and also see what life in Morocco is like.

Below are the pretties that she sent to me all the way from Morocco and check out the darling card. I just love that bird stamp!

Tina, thank you so much for the fun assortment of goodies. I have a several ideas that I can use them on, such as cards, scrapbooks and a sewing project. Once I get them done I will post them on here for everyone to see. Now, hopefully, I can keep my daughters little fingers out of them - lol.

Humor...

2009-07-09T13:38:00.004-06:00
I was digging through some boxes of photos when I was at my parents house last week and I found these in there. I thought I would share them because I found them kind of funny in a non-politcally correct sort of way.

Not sure about this one and why it needed to be printed on a little card

GIRL HUMOR

GUY HUMOR

2009-06-23T09:49:00.002-06:00
She sleeps the sleep of the very old, after all she is just a few months shy of being 17. Sometimes she does not wake up even when you rub her belly. A few years ago a trangression like that would have earned me a nip on the hand. I think she has earned the right to lay all sprawled out on my bed and not have a care in the world except to eat and sleep and to sometimes yowl like a crazy cat in the middle of the night.

I knitted a HAT!

2009-06-17T16:46:00.003-06:00
Yes it has mistakes, but I completed it and it is wearable. I'm happy with it.

Is that snow I see??

2009-06-17T16:22:00.004-06:00
We have been getting horrible thunderstorms and tornado warnings here lately. It hailed so hard last Thursday that it looked like it snowed. The hail beat up the trees and all my flowers. We went out of town over the weekend and a friend told me it hailed just about everyday while we were gone. I like the cool weather and cloudy days but I can do without the storms.

Mini Vacation in Mesa Verde, Colorado

2009-06-17T16:13:00.005-06:00

The photo on the top was taken from the Cliff Palace side of the gorge. There was no way to get down to that one as far as i could see. The photo on the bottom is the Cliff Palace. We had to go down a narrow trail and many steps to get to it and then we had to climb out by way of a huge ladder. I was gasping for air and we all had to sit for a few minutes once we reached the top.

A LIttle Bit of Weirdness....

2009-05-27T14:30:00.002-06:00
As I go about my day picking up toys and other miscellaneous stuff around my house, I occasionally run across strange little scenes. Who knows why the dog is sniffing the potted plant and why is that doll sitting on the table? I can only look at them and wonder what my scenario my daughter had going on in her head when she was playing with the toys.

I'm just happy she has an active imagination!

Grouch

2009-03-19T16:00:00.004-06:00
My friends always get a laugh when they see my scrapbook pages, there is almost always one photo of my daughter crying, screaming or yelling. These pages have all three - lol.

My Grandparents Store...

2009-03-05T10:08:00.003-07:00

Photo taken by my mom, probably sometime in the 40's or 50's. It was just a little Mom & Pop with a gas station and they sold groceries and scoup ice cream. The whole place is torn down now which makes me kind of sad since I have so many good memories of the house and visiting my Grandparents each summer. We used to walk to the church that can be seen in the back ground. The church is still there.

More Scrapbook Pages

2009-02-23T10:22:00.006-07:00

I used the Bazzi ll In-Stitc h-z templates on these pages. The templates were a "must have" that i have never used -lol.

New Blog Format!

2009-02-13T17:09:00.007-07:00
I found a website that helps you customize your blog. I was so excited to find this because I was getting so bored with my current layout. Go HERE and check out their tips and free backgrounds.

Happy Valentines Day!

100 Things....

2009-01-05T12:50:00.003-07:00
I found this list on Sophia's blog and thought it would be interesting to see how many of them I have actually done. So here goes. I highlighted the ones that I have done. Be sure and let me know if you do one too so I can go take a peek.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Held a praying mantis
9. Climbed a mountain (how big of a mountain??)
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - will that ever truly happen??
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa - I really really want to!
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48.Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Walked in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published in a book (thank you scrapbooking!)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89.Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (David Soul from Starsky and Hutch )
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (2)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Well - I have done more things than I expected!

Snowmen!

2008-12-16T18:53:00.005-07:00
I found the instructions for these snowmen on Betz White . As usual, I do not have any wool on hand but I decided it was a great way to use up some while felt that was taking up space in my basement. I made the scarf and hat out of red polar fleece. I ran out of orange wool balls so i had to use a large wooden button on one of them. They turned out great and are going to be teacher gifts this year.

More Christmas Cards

2008-09-24T10:54:00.003-06:00

Here is the set of Christmas cards that I made. I found the original idea HERE . Of course, I changed the basic idea some because I don't like to completely copy someone elses hard work. But her card was so cute that I wanted the ones I made to look pretty close to the original. I used paper I already had on hand and because I will be mailing out these cards I did not tie the ribbon because it is too bulky in the envelope.

Stamp: Fluffles Garland #N221 by Stampendous - I got it at Hobby Lobby

Ribbon: Grograin Brdeau S #3097 - I think it came from Michaels

Paper: Basic Gray - Fruit Cake - it was left over from some scrapbook page. Except for the paper with the words on it, i'm clueless about who made it and where i got it.

The oval is cut with the Cricut at 4" using George and the outside layer is also 4" but on shadow.