Rock is Dead

My Yarny Goodness

2011-01-27T18:49:00.003-05:00

I know, I know, it's been a while since I blogged. seriously, who blogs anymore? It's almost a dead medium in our 140 words or less Twitter universe. At any rate, I have been knitting. Up first is Seth posing in my first ever hand made shawl. it is knitted in Cascade 220 and the pattern is Garter Leaves. In my knitting group at Christmas we did a Dirty Santa exchange of shawl patterns and yarns. This is what I won. I absolutely love it. I wear it with a feminine white blouse, but with Seth, I couldn't be so picky.

I have lots of random yarn pictures on the blog today. Why, you wonder? Because I want to trade away some of my yarn on the world's best ever knitting web site, Ravelry. In order to post pictures of the yarn there, it has to link somewhere though, and I have nowhere to put my pics but right here.

I am hoping to attract people who like sock yarn and sparkles. The yarns need to have a trade value of about 20 bucks per batch, so I am putting my yarns together in lots that match.

I am hoping to trade out a few skeins that are currently just taking up space in my stash and make money at the same time. Genius, eh?

There is not much news to report. For fun we finally subscribed to netflix and are watching back to back episodes of Prison Break. Thankfully the children find this a miserable;e way to be entertained and generally leave us alone to watch TV in peace. It's a win/win situation for us boring old people!

Winter has been here in full force for many months now. It seems like we got snow before Thanksgiving and we still have it. The cold hasn't really broken and everyday is a grey day. My spirits are good despite the depressing weather, maybe because my husband is vacuuming the house as I write this and there is nothing I like more than a man who cleans.

Tis The Season

2010-11-30T08:32:00.002-05:00

As Christmas is coming, my knitting needs have heated up. I have been working on hats quite a bit. The hat Noah is modeling is called Turn a Square and is quite a great idea. It starts with stripes that are round, but it turns into a square shape at the top of the hat as you make decrease stitches. I have made a couple of these and really like them. You don't get the effect very well in this picture, but when you work with models who aren't paid a living wage, you take what you can get. Scott is not on the list to recieve any home made gifts this year as we all know he doesn't understand why people would wear yarn. It hasn't stopped me from threatening to make him some wool underwear though.

My neighbor Pete works for a wine distributor and every year for his birthday I make him something out of his discards. Last year it was the wine cork wreath with grapes and this year it was a Christmas ornament with a cork body. It is called a Korknisse, should you want to look the pattern up on Ravelry. He swore he loved it. He also got the hat that Noah was modeling, and I know that was a well loved gift as everyone in his house tried it on and his daughter asked for one in purple. I don't care much for the Korknisse myself, but Seth wants one in blue.

Seth made us dinner last night. He has been asking if he can make French Toast but we are always out of some ingredient for him. Last night he couldn't wait to get cooking. He started asking what time he could start as soon as he got home from school. He said he wants to make us eggs and bacon next time, but that most of the bacon will be for him. I gotta get the kid into the spirit of giving that goes with this season. I can't wait till he wants to cook dinner every night. cooking is definitely one skill I want to pass on so I don't have to be the only cook in the family.

I have been volunteering once a week at the school library. I am glad to have a mini job as it gives me something to do every week. I put on a blouse and jewelry and everything, just a like a professional person would. Then I sort magazines, catalog books, whatever needs to be done. Plus, I get to be out of the house and amongst people who read. I haven't gotten any good book recommendations yet, but I am hopeful. I am always looking for my next good book.

Seth put up the Christmas tree this weekend. We used my friend Maria's tree that she left us last year. It is so lovely! I have never had a tree before that had only white lights on it. I thought Seth might fuss about it, as he is definitely a guy who likes colored lights. He likes this tree because it is so tall and it is prettier than our old tree. I tried to take a picture of it, but I couldn't get far enough across the room to get a good shot.

Noah has taken up fencing and goes to Fencing Club once a week. It meets at the high school and he has tried to get me to pick him up at the middle school and drive him to the high school. (Ha!) I tried to tell him he is old enough to cross the street, but he is always a kid looking for the easy way to do something. I wish fencing was everyday, he is a much happier child when he gets some exercise.

We are well and happy, and I hope it won't be so long between posts again.

It's A Miracle

2010-10-05T07:43:00.002-04:00

My friend Maria called last week and told me that she lives vicariously through my blog and that when i don't update, she is very sad. well, what is a friend to do? I get off my lazy behind and post some of the pictures I have taken. I am a good friend! The picture above is of the Christmas presents I have wrapped already. I know, it's barely October. But Christmas comes at the same time each year and is year I am determined to be ready to meet it head on.

I give little homemade gifts to the children's Sunday school teachers at church. This year I didn't make the gifts, but, still, they are homemade. Everyone is getting a duet of two crocheted wash/dish cloths. I found a lady who sells them for a dollar each and I have been buying all I can for presents. I hope everybody wants to be eco friendly this year!

Seth's teacher had a birthday in September and I made her a little person. I had not gotten out my wooden pieces in a while, so this was fun to do again.

I found a link to marthastewart.com and her High Hat Cupcakes. I just had to try them. I made the cupcakes from a box mix and then you make the marshmallow topping and pipe it on as high as you can. After you have the topping, you turn it over and dip it into melted chocolate. Oh. My. Word. These were so good! I cannot even tell you how enjoyable I found these. My tops got a little flat, but the taste was divine.

I took Seth to the state fair and we spent some time at the Agricultural displays. This year they had a jar set up and were taking pictures of people who had been canned. Seth thought he would be funny and pretend to be trapped in the jar. He and his brother are always the comedians.

School is fine, the laundry piles up and I wish dinner would make itself. Pretty much nothing changes around her. It is life as usual. And a good life it is!

Busy, Busy

2010-08-05T08:30:00.002-04:00

What can really be said? Anyone who is home with kids in the summer knows that they will be kept hopping. We dog sat for a friend. And I made some bookmarks with a new stamping set I got from Papertrey Ink.

I made a bunch of cookies for the Indiana State Fair. I haven't entered in years, and now I can remember why. I was on my feet all day long trying to get things made, iced, packed, stored, tagged, entered, labeled, recipes added, etc...

I also knit a few things. Seth will agree to model for me , for a small fee. You'd think room and board would be enough, but no such luck. I made a cowl with yarn from Mountain Colors, the colorway is appropriately named "Crazy Woman". I am going to make matching fingerless mitts and a hat from this yarn, too. I don't want to be sportin' mismatched knits this winter

And I made a hat from Plymouth Mushishi. The best thing about the Mushishi is that it is sold in a huge skein, almost 500 yards. So, you can get plenty of knitting done from just one skein and don't have to worry about dye lots.

School starts in a few days and as happy as I am for some alone time, I am not happy that the boys will need to be at school at 7:15 in the morning. It is way, way too early for anyone to be awake and ready to go.

How did It get to be July?

2010-07-24T10:06:00.002-04:00

I tell you, I don't know where the summer went. I also don't know where my photos went. I have crafted much more this summer than I am able to show you. I also scored some yarn at a yarn sale that I was going to post, but some of my photos are unfindable right now. SIGH.I made the card with a brayered background. I took a class about making these backgrounds last year and promptly forgot everything I learned. This card did turn out well, though.

I have been on a bit of a kick this summer where I am making fingerless mitts. It's one of those things I can do without the written instructions, so if I need to pick up yarn and knit I could pull the pattern out of my head. Noah obviously thinks these make great fighting gloves. My pattern is pretty basic and is called "Easy Fingerless Mitts" on Ravelry. As soon as school starts and I have access to knitting help, I plan to use a different pattern and step it up a bit. I have a slightly fancier idea in mind. The self striping yarn helps the simple pattern out tremendously.

We did take vacation this year in between the kids' summer camps and went to Atlantic City. We stopped in Gettysburg on the way and came home through Philadelphia. Noah did not want to go to the beach in Atlantic City, saying the sand bothered him, and that there were not any shark teeth to hunt for. He is spoiled by the teeth we have found on our trips to Myrtle Beach. In my opinion, the treasure of finding shark teeth is the only thing Myrtle Beach has going for it.

I loved Philadelphia and seeing the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin's printing shop and printing press...we all enjoyed it and we saw only a bit of it. It is definitely worth a return trip. Plus, it was all free except the parking. For those who feel like I do about how you bleed money on vacation, it was great to find a free day long activity.

This time with Pictures

2010-06-02T00:49:00.003-04:00

Now you can see that I really do knit things. Above is the Three Way Shawl, knit with Lion Brand Amazing yarn in Aurora. I love it. Amazing really is Amazing to work with. Below is another Three Way Shawl, knit with Geologee yarn that I found on the clearance rack at my local store. It can be worn three ways, hence the name. It can be a scarf, a shawl, or wound around the neck like a cowl. I'd show you, but my model is still on strike.

Below is another use for the geologee yarn. It is called Lacy Baktus. You can knit a Baktus without the holes, if you prefer a less lacey look.

I prefer the holes, the yarn goes further this way. I can't wait to wrap it around my neck this winter and hope that it will add some style to my usual windblown and frozen appearance.

Even Mumbles the penguin approves. Just wait till I show Seth that I don't need him anymore anyway!

Quickie

2010-06-01T18:59:00.001-04:00

A quick link of a stash bit that I have for trade on ravelry. It's Soy Wool from Paton's.

Again, the Camera

2010-05-25T13:43:00.002-04:00

Oh yeah, believe me when I tell you that I have a lot to show you. Too bad I lost the camera and cannot prove to you how productive I am. I swear I saw it just the other day. Now it is nowhere to be found.

This is the last week of school for the kiddos so I am busy. There is an end of the year party, a review of the year's activity on video for everyone, a music program, a sending off party for the Fourth Graders as they move to the Intermediate School next year, a pizza party, an Honor Roll award ceremony. My youngest went to a minor league baseball game last week and my oldest goes bowling with his class this week. In order to make the baseball game an educational field trip the kids are to keep game stats, and they do a math unit at school related to the game. As for bowling? it is just a way to spend the last day of school and have it count into the 180 days required by state law.

I am trying to tidy up loose ends and get ready for summer with kids. Stocking up at the grocery without them underfoot, a trip to Target that is not for water guns or slip and slides, much to their dismay. One last call for clothes for me. My kids like to shop, but only when something is in it for them, so there is a lot to work off of my to do list before they overtake it and my schedule.

I knitted a three way scarf and went I went to look for my camera to photograph it. I was told by Seth that he needed a fee for all the male modeling I have him do. So, I had the dog model it for me. She works for kibble and appreciates the little joys in life. If you happen to be on my gift list, please excuse the dog hair. I also made a lacy baktus. I knitted some of it at the hospital last week when my dad had shoulder replacement surgery and my mom did not even pretend to like it. Funny how friends will love whatever you make. But family? It's the wrong color, wrong weight, wrong pattern. No attempt to be polite in telling you how much your project really isn't what they like. You would think the people who are stuck with you would at least try to be polite about it.

Oh well, it helps to know who deserves hand made gifts and who does not. The sun is shining, the pool will be open soon, and I will be sleeping in. Life is good.

Late Update

2010-05-10T11:16:00.002-04:00

I would love to update my blog with photos but it seems that while I wasn't looking, Picasa changed inside my computer and I am not able right now to load photos. I would have Scott help me, but his office is in the process of moving and he is figuring out office space, placement of staff, and fielding off the infighting that comes with a move. It doesn't matter that they are moving two blocks away, it could be two states away, the work is tremendous for him right now. If I see him before June I will be lucky.

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week and I made handmade gifts for the kids to take in to their teachers and other staff members everyday. I made Strawberry Freezer Jam, Homemade Granola, Individual Pies in a jar, Cupcakes in a Jar, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and ended the week with a stamped and framed piece of art about being a teacher. I'll have to share the pictures for sure (when I can.) You can google my gift ideas and find all kinds of recipes.

My life is busy with track practice and meets and running my oldest back and forth. Poor kid had been asking about coconuts all weekend. They had some at school and he wanted to use his new found skill to open some at home. He wanted to drink the juice and carve the meat out. we finally located some and let him have a go at them last night. Seth wants to dye Easter eggs as we didn't do that before the holiday. I am more than happy to do that as well, if we can find the time. I set aside some ugly white-ish wool yarn, and I want to dye the yarn with the left over egg dyes. Again, I learned how to do this on the Internet. Google yarn dying and you will find all kinds of ideas and you tube videos.

Sorry it has been so long between updates, but I am busy living life, rather than blogging about it, I guess.

So Very Busy

2010-04-16T13:41:00.002-04:00

I never meant to leave the blog for so long. We have had a birthday, Easter, and Spring Break all in a row. I thought I might post an update while I was gone, but I was so very wrong about the amount of extra time I thought I might find. I did make some washcloths while I was on the road. I know, it is mindless knitting, but many times mindless makes me happy. And it is all I can do while in the car. Between the talking and the movies and the radio and the stops, I need things I can pick up and put down with ease.

I made some cupcakes for the boys this week. It was just Chocolate Cake Mix in large cupcake/muffin papers. I put the icing into an icing bag with a decorative tip, and squirted it on to make it look pretty. I added sprinkles and half a cookie to add some glamour. These are the rejects. The neighbors got the ones with the pretty icing and non broken cookies.

I was inspired to make cupcakes after we stopped in Charlottesville, VA on vacation and went to a place called Cappelino's Crazy Cakes. While I knew my homemade ones might not be as pretty, I knew I could glam mine up a bit. Seth chose a red velvet cupcake with the ladybug and Noah got a chocolate raspberry cupcake. I was told they were tasty too.

Seth had a birthday and wanted to decorate his own cake. I don't remember what he told me the design was, but he had a Percy Jackson themed party and invited the kids to come in costume and about half of them did! Seth decorated the sides as well, so he is a full service cake man.

I was asked a while ago to post a picture of the card I made for Scott for Valentine's Day. I hope you are all patient as I am only now realizing that V day was two months ago. Time flies.

You can see we are all doing our crafty best here, and even if we don't look like professionals we are having fun and that is what counts at this house. I don't want to die having done everything just perfectly, I want to die happy and having fun. (Not that I have any plans of it being soon.)

I have yet to make plans about dinner, so I am going to go see what I can thaw out in time.

Home Spun Fun

2010-03-30T09:28:00.002-04:00

For Buy and Sell Day at school, Seth is also making lip balm. You can see the ingredients above. It is really very easy. The recipe is supposed to be 1T Vaseline and 1 t Kool Aid. You melt the Vaseline a bit in the microwave and mix in the Kool Aid. We found the recipe a bit strong and added more Vaseline to the mix. We put the mixture in small (non food grade) bead containers from Joann Fabrics (bought with a coupon!). You may remember Seth made and sold these out in front of our house last summer, like a lemonade stand. We decorated the tops with small pieces of paper cut with a circle punch and decorated with rubber stamps. I am sorry I don't have the finished product to show you, they are cute.

I knitted up a market bag from a pattern I found on Ravelry.com. It is called a Hexagonal Bag. Seth says he likes it, but he wouldn't put raspberries in it.

Here is another photo of it, without the model. It was super easy to knit, and took 2.5 balls of Sugar and Cream cotton (bought at Michael's, regular cost $1.79 a ball.)

And a photo of Mumbles wearing his hat. On days when it is cold enough to wear his hat to school, Seth makes sure Mumbles has his on, too.

As for Noah, he is busy with track. He throws discus and shot put. He came home very happy the other day that there is one kid on the team who is worse than him. He threw something 13 feet and this kid can only throw about 12 feet. the school record is 40 feet. As long as he is happy, we are happy. He seems to love it, so we encourage this activity.

Never a Dull Moment

2010-03-19T13:42:00.002-04:00

If you can't tell what you are looking at in the picture above, it is homemade soaps. The school is having "Buy and Sell Day." All the Fourth Graders have to make at least 30 of one item and sell it to the other kids at school for "funny money" in order to compete an Econ unit. The kids earn the money all year long, then buy things with their money at the Buy and Sell Market. Seth is making homemade soap with toys and shells and plastic jewels hidden inside, along with homemade lip gloss and book marks. He wants to put them all into "Mystery Bags". I think he'll make more money selling the items individually, but this is a good opportunity for me to remember it is his homework, and not mine.

Everynight this week we have been crafting for his Buy and Sell project, and let me tell you, I am tired! Bone tired. Weary. Why my kid can't just pick one thing and make that, I will never know. Other kids will sell greeting cards, autograph books, string games.... simpler items.

I have decided to organize my knitting yarn. I saw this idea on the Yarn Harlot's blog. She wants to knit one pair of socks a month. So, she put the pattern and the yarn together in bags and each month she grabs a bag, and that is what she knits. I decided to find patterns for yarn I have on hand but have not found the right project for. This yarn I bought for a scarf, but didn't like the way it looked. I am scrapping that plan and making baby hats instead. they should be quick and easy and I can use what is on hand. Whenever I want a new project, I can just look in my stash and see what I have on hand. I have a few more bags to put together, mittens to make, a scarf to finish, a felted wool bag that needs knitting.

I can't remember if I posted about the Fish Hat I knit for my son's favorite lovey, Mumbles the Penguin. I definitely have to keep my kids off of Ravelry. they come up with too many things they want me to make for them. I think I have knit enough for them, and I need to get some Christmas presents started. Laugh if you want, but I am a slow knitter. And easily distracted too.

Sorry I didn't update in a timely fashion this week, the kids keep me busy even when they are at school. One son just called and asked me to bring his pedometer to track practice. Uhhh, No. Mommy wants to nap. I have already taken too many things to him this week that he has forgotten. Lunch or homework may get delivered if I am in a good mood and realize it was left behind in time. A pedometer? No, thanks. Maybe he'll have a better memory next time.

Knitting Updates and Johnny Weir

2010-03-07T19:29:00.003-05:00

I bought some red yarn because I was so entranced by it's beauty. Plus, it was on sale, and it was NOT green, which is what I usually buy. Show me some green yarn and I usually like it enough to make it mine. So trying to live like a wild woman, I bought some red yarn and thought "I'll just go home and look it up on ravelry and decide what to make with it." Silly me. The yarn is cotton and about the only good thing to make with cotton is baby stuff or washcloths. Lucky for me, I love knitting washcloths. I never knew! This skein made four and now I am knitting some more in brown. I decided I might as well make some that match my bathroom.

My youngest said he would model a cowl for me. I wish I could remember the name of it.

The cowl is lovely and soft. Again, the yarn was on clearance at the local yarn store. I would buy the rest of it, but even on sale, it wasn't cheap enough to allow me to own it all. As soon as I finished this cowl, warmer weather came, and the snow melted. I can look forward to next winter, now that I have some warm hand knits to wear.

Seth's birthday is coming and he has planned out his "fungenda". The list of things that will happen at his party, in the order he wants them to happen. He wants to have a Percy Jackson themed party along with a costume party. He wants his friends to come in costume, dressed like their favorite Greek God. Here he is modeling his Hades costume made from an oversized tablecloth. He then asked if he could borrow a pair of my high heels so his outfit would not be so long. I wonder if this is how Johnny Weir started out.

Winter Knits

2010-02-23T08:29:00.002-05:00

See these fingerless mitts? I never thought they were exactly the brightest idea out in the knitting world. My fingers are the coldest part of me when I am outdoors. Who wears these things? Well, never mind. A friend got a pair for Christmas that had owls on them and I immediately knew that I had to knit a pair. My MIL loves owls and she loves handmade stuff from me. I found the pattern and knit her up a pair as fast as I could. I guess my thumb is hiding in the picture, but they really do have a thumb gusset in them.

Because the mitts felt like an incomplete gift I knit her a cowl, too. It was part of my plan for the Knitting Olympics. To compete in the Olympics you choose a challenging project that has to be knit in the 17 days that the Olympics last. You cast on at the Opening Ceremony and have to finish by the closing ceremony. I learned cabling for the mitts and learned to read (and knit) a lace chart for the cowl. Whew. I learned two new skills and completed my items before the end of the games. That means I am a gold medalist!

This is the full length of the cowl after blocking, but before buttons. See? Lace. The buttons add some extra bling to the cowl, and you know how I love some bling.

I made Taco Salad for dinner the other night. My youngest thought I was crazy for photographing it. Why not? It was very pretty and I love it enough I could eat it every night. The recipe? Lettuce, shredded cheese, ranch dressing, taco meat. Crunch some fritos on top and you've got dinner. I give it a healthy dose of tomatoes in summer, but the tomatoes at the store are not worthy enough to be purchased this time of year.

It looks like my little blog has 6 followers. I have to find a way to check and see who you are. I had no idea I had "followers". How fun! Maybe I can convince you all to check out my little etsy store in the sidebar. More will be added soon to my store.

Winter Weary

2010-02-15T11:45:00.002-05:00

It wasn't until I began loading pictures for this post that I remembered my friend Laurie wanted to see the card I made for Scott for Valentine's Day. I'll have to take a picture and post it this week. I absolutely forgot that there is anything to write about except Winter. Along with my children being underfoot, Winter is the constant in my life.

Why? This is the most snow I remember receiving in Winter before. It snows and snows. It stops for a day or so then it starts again. We go from one televised Winter Warning to another with rarely a break. The kids have snow days, 2 hour delays, and built in days off for MLK Day and President's Day (today).

I often worry about money issues and things like paying for college someday, then I know that I may never go back to work. My oldest son proves his irresponsibility again and again and I know he can't be left to his own devices for any length of time. I don't know who these mothers are who work outside the home. What do they do with their kids in the summer? Who gets them on the bus when school is delayed? Who watches them after school when they are burning their bagels in the toaster? God forbid the day will soon come when they are entertaining friends of the opposite sex and looking for unapproved images on the internet. I am just not at a place in my life where I feel that my kids are safe without parental supervision. At the same time, I like it more when they are in school and I can do things like a knitting class or grocery shopping in peace and quiet.

I took the kids to the local park last week and we went sledding on a snow day. We crossed the bridge to the sledding hills and the snow was softly falling. It looked like Narnia to me. It was warm enough to be enjoyable and we played for about an hour. I eventually fell off the sled and went bare stomached down a hill. Once I got snow melting into my under garments it was time to head home.

I made cookies last week for all the people who work with my husband. I do this every year for Valentine's Day. Everybody gets at least one dozen cookies, many get more, based on their family size. I baked and packed and loaded up the cookies. Scott delivered them so I didn't have to make an extra trip out through the snow. I made 23 dozen cookies, and thankfully we had enough that some stayed home. The kids love to come home after school and have cookies waiting for them. Despite the fact I have days when I think I may go crazy as a stay at home mom, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Snow and More Snow

2010-02-07T16:41:00.003-05:00

We got some snow in the past few days, like many people in the U.S. It is under six inches, so once it stopped falling we were fine to get out and go somewhere again. The snow started on Friday, during the day and the kids were released from school an hour early so they could get home safely. We are supposed to get another big batch of snow Monday and into Tuesday, so I am hoping school is not cancelled.

The kids were out of school last Monday for Staff Development and are out next Monday for President's Day, I don't need them to have a snow day this week. There just isn't enough to do to keep them entertained in cold weather. Maybe we could go see a movie or go out to eat, but that's all I can offer, and the roads have to be good for those things to happen.

I don't have any pictures to post. The kids spent the day out in the front yard playing with the neighborhood kids, all day yesterday. And I do mean all day. There was not the usual in and out. The yard looks like a herd of moose trampled through, so there was no use in trying to take pretty snow photos. I did not step even one foot outside with my camera to get pictures of the kids, either. I like to stay in with some hot chai, a book, some knitting, and maybe even fall into a nap. That's my kind of living. The kids are letting me live the good life right now and I don't want to disturb the pattern.

I hope you are warm and cozy where you are, too.

More Auction Items

2010-01-30T17:10:00.002-05:00

This is another item I sent to my friend Beth for her amazing work on the charity Ball she is hosting. I made push pins from the stamp set she designed. I sent a set for her to use and a set for her auction basket of homemade items. I hope she loves them. They are made with Stazon stamped onto shrink plastic and glued onto push pins. Easy Peasy.

She also got this cute little cupcake pin cushion for her cupcake basket. It is made out of recycled wool sweaters and a bit of felt. These are so cute it is tempting to make a basket of them and place them somewhere in my house. They just make me smile.

I also donated a set of lampwork beads made in my studio. These are made with Italian glass and have a swirled pattern that gives them more of an organic feel. I donated another set similar to this for my Ukrainian friend and the International Talent Academy she is associated with. I am hoping this will be the end of charity season for a while so I can concentrate on opening an etsy shop with my friend Steph. We both would like to make some money with our crafts so we will see if we can do it or not.

I may add comment moderation soon or a word decoder type thing. I don't want to make it harder for anyone to leave a comment, but it seems as though the spammers have found me and I want them to go away. This seems to be the only reliable way to block them that I know of. My apologies for the inconvenience.

If there is something you think you'd like to see in our etsy shop, or something I make that you think would sell well, please let me know. For those who don't know, etsy is an internet marketplace for hand crafted items. I'll add a link to it (our store site) when it is fully functional.

Shadows Expanded

2010-01-24T14:30:00.003-05:00

The boys are both in love with the loom. I haven't woven anything on it yet, at least not by myself. Now I have two shadows waiting in the wings to get their hand son my craft items. Both boys took turns weaving on the first item I cast onto the loom. They look deep in discussion about some trivial aspect of weaving here, don't they? At least they are cooperating.

You can see I have not had a lot of time at the loom, since Seth has taken it over. I left the room and Noah and Seth could not wait to weave the day away. We finished the first practice piece and Noah was dying to make scarves in school colors. I bought some cheap yarn and got the loom ready for him, only to have him weave a few rows and no longer be interested. It is okay, though, the project was not very attractive (Noah picked out the yarns himself) and we learned an important lesson (Cheap yarns i.e. acrylic, stretches too much and isn't good for weaving.) Better to learn on his weaving than mine, I say.

I have an internet friend from my Hanna Stamps days (Beth Silaika) who is hosting a huge charity auction/dinner/dance and asked for handmade items for some silent auction baskets. I was packing up some crafts to send her and I remembered I had previous plans to make a bracelet for her out of a stamp set she designed for Papertrey Ink.

I made the shrink plastic charms using her set,Winter Swirls, but hadn't actually made the bracelet. I finished the bracelet for her this week, and it is on the way to her in New York now. I hope she likes it, as I made it for her to keep and not for the auction. I'll post pics of other items I sent for the auction in my next post.

I think she'll love it.

Fish Bake at 250 for 20 minutes

2010-01-19T18:37:00.002-05:00

I was searching Ravelry.com for knitting ideas a week or two ago when the pattern for a Fish Hat came up. Unfortunately Seth was with me and saw the pattern so he immediately exclaimed "Oh, I just have to have one of those!" He was dead serious. He wanted it in blue, so I had to search my scraps till I found the right colors for him.

Thankfully the pattern was pretty easy, since I often can't read patterns written for knitting. I don't know why they don't just use plain English for them. Seth is thrilled with his hat!

One of the eyes looks wobbly here, it's just the way it was laying at the time. You knit and knit for the hat, then I washed it gently to soften it up a bit. Because we aren't patient people, I often dry my items in the oven. I know, it's odd, but even the Yarn Harlot does this. I took my damp hat and baked it at 250 for about 20 minutes. It wasn't completely dry, but close enough that it would be dry by morning and I wouldn't give poor Seth frost bite while he waits for the bus. He adores this hat. He wears it every day. The ladies in my Friday morning knitting group have asked about it, but I can't get it off his head long enough for show and tell.

I baked the hat before I added the buttons, just in case they might melt in the oven. I added circles of white felt for the eyes and blue buttons for eyes, both sewn on with a needle and thread
Oh, the things we do for our kids!

Me and My Shadow

2010-01-11T19:20:00.002-05:00

I have a shadow, his name is Seth. Everywhere that I go, my shadow goes. Everything that I do, my shadow does. I sat down today to cut apart sweaters as I (still) have not finished crafting with them, and Seth came to help. When I stood up, he sat in my chair. When I put my scissors down, he took them for his use. See the sweater parts he has his hands on? He took them from me and has plans to create sweater animals from them. This is my new craft:

Making flowers from sweaters. It's a great idea, but it uses up sweater pieces even slower than the mitten making did. I have a neighbor who recently got "gifted" her mother's old jewelry. I begged the clip on earrings from her, and am using them for the inner part flower. I also have some felted fleece pieces for the inner aprt of the flowers, but I had to buy them from Etsy. The clip ons were free, baby, and that is always the right price for me.

Once again, I find this very addictive and just can't stop, despite the pleas from Seth that I finish making the hat I am knitting for him. I just knit him a hat for Christmas, so it isn't like his ears are cold or anything. Plus, I have knitting of my own I'd like to do. Ravelry.com has a pattern for French Press Slippers I am dying to make. I can make a pair with one skein of wool yarn and they are desperately calling my name.

If you still read here, please comment. I have so few commenters that I get seriously lonely.

We Have Returned

2010-01-04T16:45:00.003-05:00

Scott likes to go on vacation after Christmas and when he mentioned Florida, I was immediately interested. It means 1) I won't be trapped in the house with the kids with only my wits to keep them entertained and 2) Florida is warm. Well, this year Florida must have known we were coming, because they had a cold front come in. It wasn't horrible for us, but definitely cooler than expected. I have very few beach photos because the beach is always cooler than the land due to the wind. Noah and Scott did get up early one day and see the sunrise and this is a photo of that endeavor.

I kept myself entertained by knitting. These are the cozies I made that go around a cup of coffee, so you don't have to use (and throw away) a cardboard sleeve every time you get some take out coffee. I didn't keep count when I was making them, I just kept knitting. You can see I still have one in progress. I was busily knitting along when Scott started to tell me how great the book he was reading happened to be. When he finished it, I picked it up, and any thoughts I had about knitting quickly subsided. The book is A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and talks hilariously about his attempt at walking the Appalachian Trail. Bill is so funny I want to read every last book he has written.

I got a loom for Christmas and Scott put it together for me, so now I can't wait to work on that. No pictures to show, since there is nothing in progress. Hopefully soon.

The dog is back from the kennell, the guinea pigs will be home soon, laundry is done and dinner is in the oven, so it was a productive day for me. Tomorrow? I get to do it all over again.

Bad Attitude

2009-12-26T18:56:00.002-05:00

I know, it's the Christmas season and I should be grateful for the gifts I receive. I should be grateful anyone would want to give me a gift, any gift at all. But instead, I got some gifts that were not to my liking and I feel like a greedy, non appreciative person. But really, see the clock? Why would anyone see this and think of me? Maybe my neighbors whose husband works for a winery would like it.

And this purse? Really? I don't even know what to say. My neighbor brought me these gifts on Christmas Eve. Closely followed by going to my parents house and receiving cartridges for my Cricut. Yes, the cricut I did not want and don't use. My mom picked out some nice floral cartridges for me. So I can add flowers to my sons' scrapbook pages? Pages I haven't worked on in years? Ungrateful ? That is me. My mom said she looked at the books on my Amazon.com wish list and thought they were boring. Well, she wasn't going to be the one reading them!

Christmas hysteria starts at Halloween with my family getting onto each other about gift lists and wish lists and such. And ever year someone pronounces someones lists lame and buys off of the list. Not me. I shop from the list and do my best to make people happy and I would simply appreciate the cooperation of others. It should not so hard to get everyone on the same page.

Christmas was not a total bust, I got a great book from my sister in law and a book from Scott, alog with the weaving loom I wanted. We are leaving for a bit, but i will be busting out the loom as son as I return and can get back into my happy crafting place again.

Homemade Christmas

2009-12-21T17:29:00.002-05:00

Once again it was time to celebrate Christmas with my best girlfriends with our annual exchange of homemade presents. I scored the necklace (above) from my friend Rebecca. I also got a dozen tamales and some lip gloss, but don't have photos of either because they were immediately pressed into service. The necklace is made from sculpey, stamped and baked and glossed. I love it. the pattern on it reminds me of something from nature, and fairly African in look. I have got to learn how to do this!

My friend Stephenie P. made me a homemade pillow. I love this, it will match great on our guest bed. It is very fun and funky and has a great style to it.

My friend Stephanie B made felted items for us. I really had no idea what i would get from her, because we were together when we saw felted items we loved. I knew she was working with felt this year, but had no idea what she would come up with. This is already on my table.

A friend of Rebecca's knew we had a homemade exchange and contributed carved wooden pieces for all of us. I got a door stopper but have it on my bookshelves right now. It looks like a beautiful piece of sculptural art to me.

What did I give? Well, of course I don't have a photo to share! I went with an office theme and made everyone a lunch bag made from oil cloth, monogrammed notecards and a frame with flowers on them. I used felt and card making type flowers for decorations on the frame. Next year I'll have to take photos of my own gifts, too.

As for the Lemon Cookie recipe:

1 box Lemon Cake Mix

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs.

Mix together and drop cookies onto a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes. Cooking time varies based on the size of the dough balls. Mine were fairly big so I baked them for 13 minutes. I added a bag of white choc chips to stretch the dough and made a double batch. You can use this recipe with any kind of cake mix. Imagine Red Velvet cookies rolled in powdered sugar before baking. Next for me will be chocolate fudge cookies with butterscotch chips. It is not an original recipe, but one found on the internet. God Bless the internet. I do love it.

Not Much, That's What I Got

2009-12-14T11:03:00.003-05:00

I have not felt terribly crafty since I finished up the mittens and stockings. So, there isn't much to report on the Crafting front. I did make an ornament for a friend who is a wicked game player. She will be horrified that I used Scrabble tiles, thinking I broke up a perfectly good game. But the truth is that I ordered the tiles from ebay a while back, thus rescuing what might have otherwise been seen as (gasp) trash. I found out some time later that you an also buy fake scrabble tiles in the section of the local; craft store that sells wooden pieces, making it much easier to craft with them since you won't need to purchase a game, or search for tile parts on the internet.

Our next door neighbors moved away recently and I went to meet the new neighbors yesterday, taking homemade cinnamon hot cocoa mix and homemade granola with me. The wife came over last night with some homemade cookies warm from the oven. Oh, I think I really like these people! I made lemon cookies for a cookie exchange Friday. Now, I make a decent size thick cookie, right? My neighbors toffee cookies are next to my lemon cookies in this photo. Yep. She can kick my cookie baking butt. I hope she shares her secrets. They tasted yummy, too.

I am meeting my friend Maria today. She is moving to Brazil on Friday and I cannot even tell you how much I am going to miss her. But I will be every happy to see her in Brazil soon! When? I don't know, but I know I am visiting as soon as I can.

Wintery Wonderland

2009-12-08T08:51:00.002-05:00

I can't resist taking pictures of my house in the snow. I don't know why. I think my house is very pretty and I like it year round, but in the winter it really calls to me. No doubt when the kids are old and they are parents themselves they will want to show their own kids what the home they were raised in looked like. Then they will think Global Warming has really taken effect as all the pictures will show snow on the ground. Noah even wore shorts to school yesterday, most likely compounding his memory problems as an adult. He'll tell his kids we were so poor we couldn't afford pants.

In an effort to make homemade Christmas presents I am on a mission to make hats. The school colors are really green and White but no one believes this as the school tends to use Green and Gold all the time. Gold is supposed to be an accent color, but has become a main color. I made my first hat in Green and White much to the dismay of my children, so now I am making Green and Gold hats. The pattern is called Zportz and is available free on Ravelry if you are inclined to knit these yourself.

Fourth Grade is the year you learn about Indiana History in school. They have a day called "Wax Museum". The kids pick their favorite Hoosier off of a list and research them. Then on Wax Museum Day the kids all go to the auditorium, dressed like their person and wait for people to come press their "button". Once "turned on" the kids come to life and recite a speech about their famous Hoosier. Seth is Michael Jackson. He held his pose so I could get a photo of him.

If you look closely you will see a bit of my dog in the picture. She was fully in the picture but one eye was illuminated green and the other was illuminated blue. The red eye control on my photo program could not eradicate the glow nor the colors of her eyes.. Thus proving once again my dog is weird.

The Bounty of the Season

2009-11-28T17:34:00.002-05:00

My friend Maria is moving soon (way too soon if you ask me, too bad no one did!) to Brazil and I am collecting some of the bounty from her home. I feel like the luckiest person alive. Not only did I receive some gorgeous couches that look great in my basement, I also got some pillows from her. I am always looking at pillows when I am at the store. You know how it is, they would really freshen up a room, but to buy them? It hurts the wallet and it is not an item that you absolutely need to have. It's just an item that I lust over. Well, I got some pillows from Maria! This is my favorite pillow. The green one in the back is my saggy old pillow, the pretty one in front is from Maria.

I would love to promise you that there will be no more pictures of mittens, but I am still working on them. Today I added cuffs to the mitten bottoms. I made some of them so that they would not need to have cuffs, but they look better cuffed, so I am cuffing them all. You will see this is not a prettily posed photo, but a photo of real life in my home. Now that I see the picture I wish I had set the scene better. I do now have hope that I can get everything finished up soon. The mittens may or may not get little buttons added on for decorations, It all depends on how tired I become from looking at them.

Seth has the most christmas spirit of all of us in the house. He loves to put up and decorate the Christmas tree, and we love to let him do as much of it as he can. He opened the tree box and pulled out the Christmas tree skirt that I made years ago. He put it on like a dress and began to dance around and sing a few Christmas choruses. He hates when I tell about him on my blog, but he is the most fun to chat about. The tree will be up soon and I have a few presents to put under it. I do not like an empty tree. Not one bit.

Oh No, Not Again!

2009-11-25T08:46:00.002-05:00

If you are tired of looking a my mittens, imagine how tired I am of making them. After starting this mitten craft with sweaters from the Goodwill store, I quickly realized I had a whole lot of wool and needed to make something else. So, I started making Christmas stockings. I made 13 of them and they are completely made and complete. Mittens? I am still fussing around with them. Some (read most) still need an edging around the bottom and I am trying to add edging while keeping the mittens stretchable. A harder task than you might think.

I went to a card class in Nashville In a few weeks ago taught by Michelle Zindorf. she uses brayers on her cards and they are quite different from what you would usually find. I thought I would show you what I made, but I can't find my cards. That is the story of my life right now. I am not very well organized and I try to keep things picked up. So, I pick up things and put them away, then forget where I put them *sigh*

I need the holidays to be over so I can do a good cleaning around here. You know, tidy up the craft stuff, toss out scraps I don't need and get everything squared away. Of course, I don't want to wish the holidays away before they are even here. Maybe Santa will bring me some organization skills this year.

Making Necklaces from Hardware

2009-11-19T14:33:00.003-05:00

I am not having a lot of luck moving my pictures around today, so these are not in the order I would like for them to be in.

I'll have to wait until Scott comes home to help me straighten out my problems. I like to have text between the pictures so I can exlain things better, but Blogger isn't going to let me do that right now.

I got this idea from the blog of Shelly Katzung, Accentuate 'N Ink. She posted a tutorial on how to make necklaces from washers, like you would find at Lowe's. Some of her washers have scrapbook paper on them and look very cute. She traced around the paper and cut it out so it was the size of the washer and she glued it on. Then she covered the top of it with Glossy Accents so it would protect the paper and have some shine.

Shelly also had a tutorial on covering washers with ranger Inks. You just dab it on and let it dry. That is what I used to make my necklace.

The top photo is what the washers look like at lowe's, if you'd like to try this on your own. Shelly used clips she found at Joanns to attach the washer to the necklace. I went to Joanns and bought the only four clips I saw, and I think they add a great professionally finished look to the piece. I included a picture on the clip in its packaging so you know what to look for.

The bottom photo is my finished necklace. I used a red color, maybe Plum. I have only a few colors and could only play around with what I had onhand.I also used some silver additive, which seemed to help intensify the color and attch it to the washer. Next time I try this, I'll be wearing gloves as my ranger ink skills are messy and my hands were dyed after this project. The silver circular item I added to the encklace is a donut from Stamping Bella. She has a line of plastic pieces called Donuts and Dots. But, you could wire wrap a small bead or pearl or crystal if you'd like.

Scott will not be so happy when he sees me going through his tool cabinets looking for items to color! Now I can color coordinate screws and nails if I want!

My Neighbor Pete's Birthday

2009-11-17T15:17:00.002-05:00

There is s mall group of us in my neighborhood who have birthdays on repetitive dates. It's hard to explain so follow along, My birthday is 10-10, (Oct 10) Jen was born on 7-7 (July 7) and Pete's birthday is Nov 11th (11-11). We exchange presents in out little group. Pete happens to work for Berringer Wines and I had a collection of wine corks that he gave me last summer. He thought they were trash, but I made him birthday presents with them.

The picture above shows me holding a cork trivet. I used pre cut pieces of cork I bought at Michaels (with a coupon, of course). I glued the corks on, trying to use completely different corks. I had to cut one cork in order to make the pattern work, but I just got out a kitchen knife and cut part of it off. Easy Peasy. Hot glue was a great thing. Lay out your pattern and glue the corks on. I used two layers of cork for the bottom as one layer semed too thin. I covered the edges with a band of ribbon.

I found a thin fall wreath at Michaels on sale for 75% off so I bought a big bunch of plastic grapes in a coordinating color and cut the group apart with scissors at home. I then glued on the grapes and only Berringer corks to the wreath. I wasn't sure about it, but Pete seemed to really like it. The rumor is that he took it to his office and has it hanging there. Apparently his office is full of Berringer memorabilia.

I also gave Pete pictures of his kids which I had punched out with a 1 inch circle punch and put in pop bottle lids. I tied a ribbon to the top and put a magnet on the back. Pete is a frugal man and his wife is a discount shopper like I am. I think they were pretty happy that I used their wine corks in such a creative way. It makes me happy to give gifts that people love.

The weather is rainy and cold here. I don't like the rain part of it most of all. It makes it hard to go out and get errands done. I did put chicken in the crock pot this morning and I went out to use my Kohl's cash that I earned last week. My mom wants hand towels for her bathroom and I got that taken care of for Christmas. I also finished sewing tops and hangers on all my sweater stockings. I need to finish up making mittens and then I can get rid of all the odds and ends of sweater pieces. Seth is dying to put up the tree but Scott says no. Seth never seems to get what he wants, poor little guy.

Cookie Day

2009-11-09T14:02:00.002-05:00

Every year our church youth group spends a day making bazillions of Chocolate Chip Cookies as a fundraiser. Someone at the church works at a local high school and they use the kitchen there for baking the massive amount of cookies. People order the cookies as Christmas presents for office staff (and whoever) and it turns out to be lots of work for one day, but a huge fundraiser. This year I was asked to make cookies as samples to cut up and give away on ordering days. I made almost 8 dozen cookies this weekend and when I left the room for a minute I returned to find the above scene. My kids are so funny!
This pile is what has been keeping me busy. I decided I might never use up all my sweater pieces for mittend and decided to move on to stockings. I can get two stockings out of each sweater and still have smaller pieces left for mittens. I took a picture of the carnage on the floor. I now have about 12 or 13 stockings made but I need to complete the top part of them with some trim, so they are mostly done but not quite finished.

The wool is thick enough that it takes up more room than an average craft so I am eager to finish it all and throw away the scraps. Then I have to find someone who wants a wool scrap stocking for the holidays! I swear, I should have thought about that first before I got carried away with this. It seems though that the closer I get to the holidays, the more people I find that I'd like to have a present for, single parents, youth group volunteers, people away from home or family who otherwise might not wake up to presents under their tree. I love surprising people with the gifts of the season, the greatest of these being love. I even have a few gifts wrapped already. Once we put the tree up, I have to have presents under it. I can't stand having an empty tree.

Putting Away for Winter

2009-11-04T08:29:00.002-05:00

Whenever I have an activity going on, Seth wants to help, so I put him to good use helping me make freezer jam. I went to a jam making demonstration at Sur La Table a while back and they suggest adding 2 teaspoons of grated orange peel to the jam, so Seth is grating for me. We are not measuring accurately because the lady at Sur La Table said 2 t is equivalent to about grating half an orange, so I just take her word for it grate right into the bowl.
I feel like a squirrel putting away for the winter. I made 21 jars of strawberry jam which will go to the Sunday school teachers at church. I gave everyone stamped tiles last year, and they were a HUGE hit. What can I say? Scott teaches 2nd and 3rd grade kids and I am an adult class leader, so I appreciate everyone who works hard to keep things running smoothly.

I finished a pair of mittens for myself. I know I am keeping them because I found some pretty felted flowers on a sweater at Goodwill and cut them off the sweater and sewed them onto the mittens. I love them! Of course, I bought the sweater, I didn't swipe the flowers right there in the store. :)

Scott spent last night painting the bathroom for me. The bathroom is one of those endless projects you can work on bit by bit with no "due" date. At least now we can put up towel bars again, which is my goal. I hate painting projects and everywhere I turn I see some other room that needs painted or trim to be painted or a touch up spot that needs help. I should set aside an hour or two a day and paint before I go crazy, but I just can't seem to find the time. Scott is a God to me and I never love him more than when he is painting for me.

More Mittens

2009-10-28T14:12:00.002-04:00

I'd show you the photos, but they really just look like more of the same. I keep on making mittens. I don't know if it is the cheap deals you can get on a sweater that I love or the sewing. Time will tell when I can se if I accomplish anything with all this felted wool. I ntend to use up every last scrap of it.

Since I was last here, I vacationed in the Wisconsin Dells with friends over Fall Break. Wisconsin does not have a drinking age if you are with your parents and the restaurant permits it. Sort of funny, and odd for me who lives in Indiana where you can't even buy alcohol on Sundays. Seth did no drinking, but it was odd to think he could. I had a great time vacationing with my BFF Steph and her family. Who knew how much fun it could be? I never want to vacation with my own family again. (Just kidding, Honey)

We ate our way through Beer/Cheese/Brat soup except for Scott who doesn't care for brats. He tried one cup of it on our last night and immediately knew he was sorry for all that he'd missed. Maybe next time he'll listen to me when I tell him what is good. I guess I could have offered him a bite of mine earlier on, but apparently I didn't fell like sharing.

Here in town we have a research place that has people come in and do studies. I am on the calling list so every once in a while I go taste breakfast bars or use acne wash or whatever they want. they pay well, too. Today I got called in on a study to taste test pies. I sampled three apple pies and then they gave me the pies to take home. Score! We will all be happy pie eaters tonight. Now I just gotta stock up on my French Vanilla Edy's ice cream to go with it. Mmmmm Edy's.

Mittens

2009-10-20T20:12:00.003-04:00

So this is pretty much how crafts happen. At least at my house. I was at the fabric store looking for some fabric for a sewing idea I had. I spotted a bin of wool sweaters and a pattern about how to make a bag out of old sweaters. You just get a wool sweater, felt it in your washer (wash in hot water so the fibers shrink) and cut it according to the pattern. Voila, you have a bag.

So, I got a sweater at Goodwill and washed it, cut it, and made a bag. Only it was too big and really not pretty. So, I searched the internet and found a mitten pattern, like the mittens I saw in the store for $40.00 last week. So now I am cutting up felted wool pieces and making mittens.

The two photos are of different mitten sets, even if the colors are the same, I put them in different places on the mittens. You are supposed to sew the cuffs of the sweaters onto the bottoms of the mittens for edging, but I noticed if you use the sweater band you don't need to do the edging. And I am all about cutting out a step or two if I can.

So, I have cut up sweater pieces around the house. The problem is that they are bulky to have around. I have only made a couple of pairs so far, but Noah and Seth each took a pair right away that they claim to love, so I can call this craft a success since it is kid tested and approved.

Brrrrr

2009-10-14T17:00:00.004-04:00

I have been in a baking mood lately. Maybe it is because we have not yet turned our furnace on. I think I am trying to stay warm by oven power! I made cupcake bites again, and Seth helped decorate. If you want to know what these are, go to Bakerella and see her recipe and designs. Her site is very cool with lots of variations on the theme.

My neighbor Jen brought me a birthday basket with the supplies to make her famous Tomato Basil soup. Seth has wanted the recipe for a year and she has always been meaning to get to it for me. So for my birthday I got all I need to make my own soup. My conclusion? It was good but it's one of those things, food always tastes better when someone else makes it. It was goodthough and probably has very few calories as it is so full of veggies. It was great on a cold winter night but I really needed some grilled cheese to complete the meal.

I went to a little gift shop today and found some cute mittens for $40.00. Yep, you know I didn't buy them at that price! But i cannot stop longing for them. I wish I'd had my camera, I would have photographed them. They were made from "reclaimed" fleece and wool. This means the lady either cut up her husband's old clothes or shops at Goodwill. She got her supplies on the cheap and there is no way you can convince me that there was enough labor in them to justify the forty bucks. I do need to find a thin warm additive to put between fleece or fabric layers to keep your hands warm when you wear the mittens. Maybe if they are two layers of wool/fleece they will be warm enough.

I am on a mission to make my own now. I'll have to make a prototype and see how it goes. I stopped at Goodwill and got a sweater today for $1.99. I am going to cut it up and turn it into a bag. Any leftovers will be saved for the mitten scrap pile. I'll let you know if any of this works out. Until Later, Happy Crafting!

It's My Birthday

2009-10-10T16:55:00.002-04:00

Yes, today is my birthday! There probably isn't another day in the year that I like more than my birthday. I think it is because we never did much for my birthday when I was growing up. I got a store bought cake and a small present. Later on we could pick whether we wanted a present or $25.00. I always took the money so I got a card with money in it, and no presents.

I know it might sound greedy, but as an adult I am all about the presents, both in gving them for other people's special days receiving them on my own. I had lunch with friends this week and got some Swedish Fish. Mmmm, I love them so. They were from my friend Nana who also made me a carrot cake for my birthday. One of my favorite cakes! There is no better way to get a serving of vegetables.

Last night I had a little party with my best girlfriends and I got flowers, a gift card, a travel case and a bag in my favorite color (lime green) and a collage made just for me. I love my birthday celebrations with friends. I have no idea what my family may or may not do today. We all slept in and are having a very quiet day and I am satisfied so far.

I went to a fancy tea store this week and bought some loose leaf tea, which I promptly handed over to Scott for my birthday. He didn't do anything with it, just left it sitting out. When I woke up today I thought I would make myself a cup of teas, but I couldn't find the tea. He must have taken it and wrapped it!

My friend Steph gave me the flowers, which gave her quite a conumdrum. She couldn't decide if I liked flowers or not. Seriously? What girl doesn't want flowers?! She wondered if in my frugality I would find them wasteful. Heck, no! Of course, I would never want a big expensive bouquet from a flower store, knowing I would rather have that kind of money spent on something else. But a tasteful arrangement? Perfect! I love it! I never get flowers, so this is extra special to me.

I did some baking this week, and made a big pile of cookies, which my family managed to quickly eat down. I never meant to put off blogging this long, but the kids won't let me have access to the computer once they are home. Maybe I should distract them with more baked goods and make a run for rthe computer when they aren't looking.

Little People

2009-10-02T19:29:00.002-04:00

The possibility that I need psychological help gets closer everyday. I am quite addicted to making these little people. Dangerusly addicted if the truth is known. I have a little assembly line on the breakfast table and everyday I am thinking to myself "Maybe I can get one more coat of paint on before I leave " or " I should give them just one more coat of sealant spray before I go to bed." I just can't stop fussing with them.

I have a few for Halloween and Christmas and birthdays that are going to a store on Monday. There is a little gift shop in indy that is going to sell some for me, along with some jewelry. It will be fun to see if they sell well.

I am never good at coming up with a price point on things. Who knows what people will pay? I am always thinking " I can make that myself" pus I am too cheap to part with money so I shop frugally. If you have any thoughts on their pricing, I'd love to know. They really do take some time to make.

Seth wants to make the characters from the Wizard of Oz. He has made Dorothy and the Wicked Witch so far. he is so cute! He shares well, too, so it is easy to craft with him.

Mad Men

2009-09-29T08:53:00.002-04:00

As much as I am interested in the show Mad Men I do not watch it much because I never remember when it is on. On my favorite knitting site, Ravelery, a new craze has his the avatar world, you can google "Mad Men Yourself" and find a place to make a cute little caricature. I made one for myself. I don't know that it is the best, but it's what I have for now. I had the desire to add a cigarette to my profile, but I was afraid I'd frighten my small children. Hey, it's not my fault that I was raised by chain smokers and still occasionally love the mist of smoke as it wafts by me. It reminds me of my childhood, what can I say? Ypu make a bigger picture, but I chose to crop mine down to avatar size.

And I did create something lately. I hope I didn't post it already. I forget totaly who made the stamps, but the background paper is from Basic Grey. I brayered the background and Scott used the word "Gradient" to describe it. He's a smart guy full of big words. I never would have come up with that on my own.

Seth asked me to bring him McDonald's for lunch. I really don't want to, but I will. Why couldn't he want something good, like Arby's or Taco Bell? Tomorrow the kids don't have school, so I have to plan something to do. seth wants to go to the Indianapolis Art Museum. Not to see the inside though, he likes to walk the grounds outside. They have a gorgeous garden that is in bloom through the summer. I think Noah will go along, he loves to be outside. It won't be his idea of a great day, but he'll run and hike and have fun.

Scott

2009-09-23T08:37:00.002-04:00

Scott said he has noticed I am not updating so much anymore. Hmmm It's not as if I have throngs of readers begging for more information about my crafting life. I was going to distract everyone with a photo of a card this morning, but blogger won't cooperate with uploading. Darn thing. That's what it was made for and now it won't perform its duty.

In truth I have been painting with Seth a lot this week and not card making so much. We just can't seem to stop making those little clothes pin people. I took one out in public with me this week and I believe that I left her behind at Joann fabrics in Castleton. I know I had her in my hands at check out, so maybe she stayed at the register. I hope she likes her new life because I did not notice she was missing until I got home and I am not interested in going back for her anytime soon. Though I do miss her sweet face.

Life is pretty much the same. The boys both want to go to Barnes and Noble and I am trying to sidetrack them with a trip to the library. I am having lunch with my friend Tina today and my no longer a friend, ex neighbor M. And I really want to nap but I have to be at school to volunteer this morning. I wish I was a hot room mom, but a good volunteer is all I am. Nothing sexy about it, just dedictaed.

Craft Days

2009-09-17T18:36:00.003-04:00

If you have followed along so far you know that I lack impulse control when it come to crafts. If I see it and I like it, I want to make it right now. I saw a sweet little site on the internet where the most amazing things are made and I thought "Oh, I can do that!" I was so very very wrong! My stuff just pales in comparison. I will happily tell you the name of the site if you ask me, but I hate to post it here as I am clearly borrowing someone else's idea and not even doing it justice.

I have spent the past two days collecting all sorts of wooded balls and golf tees to glue the balls onto. I have wooden blocks, and wooden balls that are tiny and all sorts of acrylic paints (that are on sale at Michael's for 3 for $1.00 Thank God.) The kids are also helping me craft, and even a neighbor girl came to craft. It is addicting, I tell you! And Noah was having way more fun that he looks. We are painting the wood to be little candle holders.

They look like this when they are done. We used wooden beads that are 1 inch big and the holes are already in them. The monkey in the front is my favorite. The lady who makes these also makes full bodies people and they are super cute. I am trying to work my way up to that level of creativity.

What good is it to have cute little candle holders unless you have some cupcakes to put them on? Sorry these are not homemade, but that's why God gave us Kroger, right? Noah is working on making gorillas, but they were too dark to get a good picture of. I gotta run, the paint is dry and I have more little faces to paint.

Clucky

2009-09-12T14:08:00.002-04:00

I love this card! Mainly because I love the image on it, I think. The image is from Penny Black and the materials are from Papertrey Ink. The challenge the other day was to use red to make your image really pop. I attempted. I achieved!

Not much is going on here. I have a friend whose hubby is in the hospital with leukemia and will get a bone marrow transplant within the next few weeks, so I have devoted Tuesdays to doing her laundry. I pick it up in the morning before she starts teaching and return it to her at the end of the day. She lives way out in BFE so it works better this way, since I can avoid the drive to and from her home a couple times.

I have volunteered at school, driven car pool, taken Seth fast food for lunch, celebrated a friends' birthday with a Girls Night Out, just the usual stuff. I got a few Christmas presents on line already and now need to find a place to hide them. It's just more of the same old, same old, with a little sewing thrown in for good measure. I'll have to post my sewing pictures next. I nearly flunked home ec in school and never learned to read patterns, so my sewing is wonky, but it is made with love and it all works out in the end, I guess.

It's Warm Where I Am

2009-09-08T15:31:00.002-04:00

Yes indeed, these little guys indicate what I am feeling today, warm. The stamp and quote are sold separately, and as well as they go together, they are from two different companies. I got these last year at Papertrix and the boys used them throughout the fall. This year I brought them out for the color challenge on SCS, to use Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant and Basic Black. I added a little orange just because I felt like it.

We took a weekend trip to Cincinnati and spent hours and hours at the Great Wolf Lodge while the kids ran the halls and played MagiQuest, a wizard and wands style game. We also went toJungle Jim's a grocery store that specializes in foreign foods. Good thing we went to the grocery first because the kids were in no hurry to leave their game. We have played it in South Carolina and there it is played one hour at a time.I guess you can pay for more time, but we never have. In Cincinnati, you can play for as long as you want, up to 4 days in the hotel. They were worn out on the way home and slept great that night at least.

School and Karate and laundry and dinner sems to be in full swing so ther just really isn't anything much going on in my life. And that's a good thing!

This Week In Sewing

2009-09-02T17:18:00.006-04:00

I know, you are wondering, "Sewing? Again?" Well, yes. See the photos above and below? I don't know what it is called, but it is a re-useable sandwich wrapper that I bought at least five years ago at a craft fair. I thought it was a genius idea and bought it as soon as I saw it.

My favorite craft blog, Skip To My Lou, has asked us to upload easy sewing projects to share, so I thought this project would be perfect. I knew as soon as I saw this wrapper that I would make my own. That I would, in fact, make lots and lots of them. But I guess I got busy since I never actually made any, I just think about it everyday as I am packing kids' lunches.

I finally bought some fabric and started to make my own this week. The sandwich wrapper I bought has different fabrics for the front and the back, but you can use the same fabric if you want. Here is what you do:

1) Cut 2 pieces of fabric into 14 inch squares. Also cut a piece of clear vinyl this size.

2) Cut the corners off the fabric and vinyl.

3)Sew on Velcro tab to the bottom of one of the fabric pieces, maybe 3 inches from the bottom.

4) Lay fabric face to face with piece of vinyl in the middle of fabric.

5)At the top of the fabric sew in opposite piece of velcro, making sure velcro will line up to wrap the sandwich when you are done sewing.

6) Sew around all the edges of the fabric except for the bottom edge.

7)Turn fabric in side out and fold under bottom raw edge.

8) Sew bottom edge shut.

Here is some of the fabric I bought and cut down to make more sandwich wrappers with. When you fold them up, the sandwich is on the inside/vinyl side and it will stay fresh till lunchtime. You just wipe it clean for the next day's use.

Happy September! According to Skip To My Lou it is National Sewing Month, so maybe I'll have more inspiration to share before the month is over. Okay, I doubt it, but stranger things have happened.

Head on over to the Starving Artistamps web site, too. They have a new release of Halloween stamps and you can win a set! Gotta go check it out, though. You know how excited I am about Starving Artistamps and their Creatures. I really love all their stamps,the Creatures just hold a special place in my heart. I do love Halloween, so some new stamps would be so much fun!

It's A Pity

2009-08-27T15:07:00.002-04:00

Well, once again, I have things to show you. but I can't. I tried to upload a photo a minute ago and just can't seem to get it done. Since I blog in the daytime and my husband is at work, I really do have to wait till he comes home to help me. He's a great guy and I can call him for help now and then, but I can tell diagnosing and solving my problems over the phone might not be what he lives to do.

Seth has been begging me to bring him food at lunch time. I finally gave in to his request and was hoping he would want Taco Bell or Wendy's. No, he wanted Subway. He eats turkey sandwiches every day for lunch and then he says he is tired of them and wants me to bring him in some food. So what does he want? A turkey sandwich! I gave in and got the kid what he wanted and shared half the sandwich with him. He likes to eat a footlong all by himself, but today I made him share. I have been trying to save money and cutting back on lunches out is part of that, but my budget isn't any happier yet.

I did go to Kohl's and scored five shirts for $25.00. You gotta love it when everything you want is 80% off. One shirt cost a whopping $9.60, so that means I got four more shirts for under $15.00. At least my husband knows I try to be frugal. I am so pleased with my score, too! What I really need is a hot pink shirt to match a skirt I have. I should have bought a white shirt and dyed it pink with my tie dye dyes. Now that is thinking! If only I had thought about it when I was at the store!

My Favorite Day

2009-08-23T19:49:00.002-04:00

Yes, it is that time of the year again! The landscaping company across the street from us had their Annual Customer Appreciation lunch. Not only are we so frugal, that we go have free lunch every year, but they serve brats. I love brats! Scott doesn't like them because of the high fat content, so I never buy them. I could, I suppose, but I just don't. The only kind of side they had out when we arrived was cheetos. Mmmm. I love a nice crunchy pack of cheetos too! I thought it was an all around great day.

Today is the 50th anniversary of Scott's parents' wedding. All Scott's mom wanted from us was to have all her family with her in church. I thought it was an oddball request since 99 percent of the family attends somewhere every weekend, whether they be Catholic or Protestant. But we all put on our smiley faces and showed up. Afterwards we had a big dinner with family and friends.

A note about their church...it was strange. As Scott put it, it was all production and little worship. They started off okay, they are one of those modern churches that big screens up front and white people filling the pews. On the screen they showed some videotaped announcements for the week and then there was singing up front by a few ladies and the church band. I think the ladies were supposed to sing the main parts of the song and the people were supposed to sing the chorus, but it wasn't explained anywhere. The songs did not seem contemporary and were hard to sing along with. Then the minister took the podium. He had a sermon in four parts encompassing the seasons of the year. Between seasons the lights would g out and people who appeared to be production assistants moved furnishings around to make a little scene to showcase each season. A beach chair and towel for summer, a chair with a sweater on it and a fake snowman for winter. you get the idea.

I had to wonder if anyone didn't know what items symbolized the seasons. it was really pretty pointless and a big time waster, but i guess the people who attend this church like the elements of the show. I just didn't get it and it wasn't interactive at all, as I think worship should be. Of course, at the end, you can't forget to send around the offering plates! We had been there before about 10 years ago and their church was as boring as I remembered, but I think we made Scott's mom very happy and in the end that is all that matters today.

Not a Floral Bouquet

2009-08-19T16:40:00.002-04:00

I got this image from someone kind enough to send it to me. You know, one of the online friends who lives in my computer. They are some of my favorite people. Possible because they don't drink my Diet Rite and lie about it or keep me up with their snoring at night. The image is from a company called Gina K. I made the card for a sketch challenge on Splitcoast this morning and sent it out right away to a friend who is in the hospital with cancer. It should be easy cancer (leukemia, caught early) to beat, but he has a cyst on his lung and he doesn't feel well, and he is having delusional conversations with people who aren't there. His ife says he likes my crazy cards with comments like " by the time you get this the hair on my legs will be longer than the hair on your head."

The kids are dying to go to the State Fair this year. Anyone want to take them? I should put on my happy face and think about all the great childhood memeories we are making with them, but all I think about is the money we don't have being spent on worthless crap like rides and games and not on steak sandwiches, elephant ears and lemon shake ups for me. They eat their share of junk food,but it isn't the junk food I want to eat and I don't always have the temperment for standing in any more lines to get what I really want. I did not make anything to enter into the State Fair either. I thought it would get easier to compete when the kids got a little older, but instead of staying home with me in the summer and relaxing they are constantly demanding cooked food and excursions in the van. Little boogers.

For What It's Worth

2009-08-17T14:05:00.002-04:00

Well, I am sorry it takes me so long to update sometimes. Scott took my camera and loaded a bunch of pictures on the computer for me last week and now I have taken new photos but can't figure out how to load them myself. Things just aren't working out and Scott isn't by my side when I need him for things like this.

Noah's hard first day of school seems to have evened out and we are back into a routine of sorts.

I had a problem at our neighborhood pool last week and ended up calling the police because I am very tired of seeing the same mischief makers again and again in the neighborhood and knowing that no one wants to rock the boat. I have spoken to their parents in the past, but is clear the parents have little control, and left alone, the kids continually make bad choices. The unfortunate side effect is that now I am nervous about being out in the neighborhood as I don't want the parents to see me and confront me on the street. Thankfully they don't live close to me, or even on my street, but still, I think twice about walking to a neighbor's house or taking my kids back to the pool. I am sure I will feel better about it soon.

Seth is pleased with his teacher and I am trying to do the usual things, laundry, dishes, dinner. There isn't much to report as I generally have a nice quiet life with few surprises.

School Days Again

2009-08-12T14:00:00.002-04:00

Ah, the lovely return to school. What you don't see in this photo is the box of Dunkin Donuts that Seth carried in for his teacher. We know what it takes to get ahead! Seth went off to school in a good mood since he got the teacher he had been hoping for and knew that he would have some friends in his classroom.

Noah's school starts so early that if he rode the bus he would be out in the near dark of the morning waiting for it to arrive, since it comes before 7 AM. I had that happen to me, too. Lucky for him it would be a 20 minute ride on the bus. For me, it was an hour each way. And no, I am not telling stories about how hard life was when I was a kid, we lived far away from the school, and made lots of stops, that's the truth! Noah will pose for one picture on the first day of school, any more than that and I am pushing my luck. We car pool Noah to and from school so he gets some extra time in the morning.

Noah had a hard first day. One of his main teachers sent him home with 200 math problems for homework and she went through his pencil pouch and edited out what she did not want him to have. She also won't let him sit with his foot tucked up under him, the way he finds comfortable. All his previous teachers have been fine with the way he sits. I called around to a few people who know this lady and was told she was a total control freak. Uh, maybe someone could have mentioned that at his IEP in the spring? When you hear stories from other kids that she threw a stapler at one of them and slammed another into the wall, and none of her colleagues know if the stories are true or not and say "well, they might be, I hear a lot of stuff about her." That's a sign. I called her this morning and asked if we could come meet her, but she hasn't called back. I struggle not to be a helicopter parent and not being too involved with my kids' business. I would like to hear her view of things, because Noah's isn't pretty.

I made paper dividers for these little metal cases I had on hand. They previously help Build A Brad sets from Stampin Up! I put Sweedish fish and gummy worms into my little tackle boxes and printed out "Hooked on Learning." Seth is taking these in today for his teacher and the music teacher. They'll enjoy them. I love to send in gifts for the kids to take to school, but now that Noah is in Middle School that kind of frivolity stops. It makes me sad, but that's the way it is.

Do These Pleats make My Card Look Wide?

2009-08-06T16:44:00.003-04:00

Today's challenge was to add pleats to your card. I added some ribbon and tried to add pleats to it. Big Mistake. One should pleat the ribbon, then add it to the card. The quote says "Better Living through Denial" and is from Too Much Fun Rubber Stamps. The people are from Amuse and the background is from Starving Artistamps.

Sorry for the absence from blogging, I never meant to be gone so long, but so many of you have abandoned me for facebook, I don't know why I am worrying. We had a fun weekend in Chicago and have been trying to squeeze in a last bit of fun before school starts next week. The kids have also taken over the computer, which leaves me less time to blog. Man, I hate when I can't get to the computer, all my friends are in here!

Chicago was so pricey! Museum admissions kill me and then to add parking ($19.oo) and special museum shows on top of that..Wowza. The Museum of Science and Industry had a special Harry Potter exhibit and the Field Museum had a special exhibit on the slave/pirate ship Whydah. It was a slave ship that was taken over by pirates after the ship off loaded the human cargo. It eventually crashed in a storm. I found it fascinating to learn about how pirate ships worked in the 1700's. I recommend both museums and special exhibits, but bring lots of money with you. We were very lucky to keep the gift shop costs low. I don't know how it happened, but it was a miracle we are thankful for.

The kids have friends visiting today and we made a trek to one of the larger parks in our area, Forest Park. Now everybody is chillin' with chocolate chip cookies and apple juice. Life is good.

I See Dumb People

2009-07-31T16:09:00.002-04:00

I got this image from my friend Rebecca recently when she was clearing out more of her craft stuff. I am guessing it is from the mid 1990's, given the subject matter, but the sentiment holds true everyday.

Especially right now, I see dumb people. My neighbor was supposed to pick up a car load of kids after day camp today but got held up trying to shuttle family members around who are in town for a wedding and found their hotel had overbooked the rooms because a golf tournament is also in town. I had to stop trying to move laundry around and go get the kids, all the while hoping my eldest would not burn down the house while he tries to make pancakes for the second time today. Previously today he made a solution of bubble soap, hoping to sell it to neighbor kids, but didn't have any small containers to put it in. He's not exactly one to get hung up on the details.

He made pancakes twice yesterday, too, and what really bothers me is that he always makes a much larger batch than he can eat, but he won't eat leftovers, he likes his pancakes "fresh". While I hate the waste that i see and the mess I get to continually clean up. Then he and all the campers went out to the sidewalk to see if they could light a napkin on fire with a magnifying glass. Don't worry, they had a bucket of water balloons nearby in case anyone caught fire. I couldn't even stand to watch them thinking that if someone catches fire, well, the best lessons are learned the hard way.

We are trying to go to Chicago for the weekend again. I have a neighbor kid looking after the dog and the laundry is nearly done. I have packed for myself and two kids and started dishes, too. I fed the guinea pigs, washed bath towels, grabbed swim suits...you know the drill. I don't know when we are leaving because Scott does not know what time he'll be leaving work. Let's just say, 10 days till school start. Is that about 240 hours plus or minus a few? Not that I am counting, (ha!) but I am still praying for the strength to survive this summer. So close, but it feels so far.

Happy Campers

2009-07-28T08:56:00.003-04:00

This card is one for a challenge over on Splitcoast last week. The challenge was to use an image that has a motor in it. The camper may not technically have a motor, but it was a s close as I could come. Fortunately, in the world of SCS that is good enough. I love making little scenes, so used two Stampin' Up sets to make this one, Happy Camper and Under the Stars. I told a little story about how the car that pulled the camper had to go to town for more supplies.

Both boys are rotating through their summer camp days right now. Last week Noah was at day camp and Seth and I had a little extravaganza of eating lunch at places he chose. Very exciting places like KFC and the local cafeteria. Seth is at camp this week and Noah and I are hitting up the dollar store, going to the skate park and having his friends over. It is nice to have one on one time with each of them and just do things that interest that child.

The exciting news is that Doodle Factory is having a new set give away. They are giving away four new sets that they are releasing and that means four different people could each win the sets. Since it is summer and my disposable income is disposed of by the my kids, I could really use some of their fun and fantastic new stamps. How much do I love them you wonder? Well, scroll down a post or two and you will see the necklace I made with their monsters. Not everyone loves a stamp company enough to wear a handmade necklace to advertise that fact! I am not a person who generally wins things, but a girl can dream can't she? Some days my dreams are all I have!

Tonight I am going to a neighborhood party to say goodbye to some friends who are moving a few neighborhoods away. I made about 10 dozen snickerdoodles last night to take along. Those were after the 11 jars of frezer jam I made. I had some of my jam this morning on toast, and I'll just say this...if you are on my Christmas list this year you will be very happy. Although, not very surprised.

Craft sales

2009-07-24T10:45:00.002-04:00

I came across a post on SplitCoast about making your own lip gloss. It is incredibly easy, so Seth wanted to make lip gloss and have a sale. We found tubs to hold the lip gloss in the bead aisle at WalMart. They are actually a case of 24 little round bead holders, but work great for the gloss. Seth also stamped on dominoes and had supplies ready so they could be turned into magnets or pins you can wear, depending on the desires of the buyer.

You can see how sweet the lip gloss looks in the little containers. When I made lip gloss I used a 1 and 1/4 inch circle punch and thought it worked perfectly for the size of the lid. Seth liked the look of the scallop punch so that was what he chose to use. I don't know the name of the scallop punch, but it is the yellow sized one from Marvy Uchida.

Here is the recipe: 1 T vaseline and 1 t kool aid powder. You are supposed to warm the vaseline in the microwave for abot 20 seconds so it is easier to mix with the powder. You can choose whatever flavor you like, but I caution you that Grape kool aid turns a greyish color with the vaseline and does not look good, though it tastes great. I thought this was fun to do and would be great for a child's birthday party activity. The stamps for the top of the lip gloss are from Clear Dollar samps and only cost $4.99 for a set of 19 stamps. It was both inexpensive and easy, just the kind of craft that I love!

Mish Mash

2009-07-22T18:42:00.002-04:00

Today is full of a little bit of everything. The card was made for a sketch challenge. The stamps are from Memory Box (penguins) and the igloo and quote are from Amuse, while the Eskimo is from a Stampin Up set called Polar Pals. The paper is Basic Grey.

We saw the surgeon today for a check up on Scott's biopsy and he was in the room all of 30 seconds to tell us that Scott does have histoplasmosis and that it is dead. Since it is dead, you do not treat it. If it were alive, there would be treatment to kill it. He said it is many months old and there is no way to know for certain how old it is. I do not know if all the spots on his lungs will clear up or if it is like scar tissue and will be there forever. Scott will now go see his regular doctor to find out why he feels so weak and tired. Maybe it is because his body has been fighting the histoplasmosis.

Afterwards Seth and I went to se our friend Steph for lunch at Olive Garden, and dang, was it good! I cannot remember the last time I was there. Seth says he wants to go to Hooters tomorrow but I won't take him there. Actually, I have never been to a Hooters. I don't know what he'll choose. Maybe he'll pick Chic Fil A. That would be nice and affordable.

We are fine, it is rainy here and I wish it was at least a little sunny while Noah finishes up his days at camp but the forecast is for more rain.

The House of the Lazy Bums

2009-07-20T15:33:00.003-04:00

We had a nice quiet weekend with a lot of laying around. Or in Scott's case, sitting around as it hurt to lay down. We'll see the doctor on Wednesday and they'll tell us what they know.

The necklace was made for a challenge last week. I wish I could remember the title of the challenge, but it was to make a stamped piece with a double item. Double stamp an image, use two of the same embellishments or accent pieces. So, I used double beads. See how they match on each side? I love shrink art. I was going to make a shrinky dink bracelet but didn't get that far yet. The stamps are creatures from the Doodle Factory line from starving Artistamps.

Noah has day camp this week and Seth made a list of places he wants to eat lunch without his brother. Today we went to MCL. It's a cafeteria where old people eat. I am usually the youngest person in the place, but today we ate with a friend and her son, so the age limit was really lowered by us. Other places on his list include :Johnny Rockets, Chic Fil A, KFC, Papa John's, Long John Silver's and Joe's Crab Shack. We will get to a couple more, but won't be able to get to all of them. I don't know when we were last at Joe's and I did not even know he liked it, so that one is very much a surprise to me. I'll let you know how it goes.

Histoplasmosis

2009-07-15T12:59:00.002-04:00

Histoplasmosis? Yeah, I don't know what it is either, but it is likely Scott has it. It is called "the dirt germ" because it is a germ that lives in dirt and when fields are plowed (and such) the germ spreads through the air for miles around. You inhale it and... viola! You have histoplasmosis!

Scott has now had his X rays, Cat scan and Pet scan and consulted with a lung surgeon who will do the lung biopsy Friday (we check in at 6AM). They take out tiny lung pieces and check out his enlarged lymph nodes and after a few days of microscope checking they'll confirm the diagnosis. They could change the diagnosis, but since this is treatable and curable, we are hoping this is all it is. Left untreated it is fatal. Whew, what a day.

To make my life more complicated my father had a stroke on Monday. Thankfully it was a minor one. He has been in the hospital and should get out today. Scott and I are car sharing this week as both cars needed some maintenance, so I have not been out to visit him. We thought Scott's tires needed rotating so he went to check them, and they were so bare, the metal under the tire was showing. He drives very little in his car, so he must have really had cheap tires on it from when we purchased the car.

No matter, I still find time to craft. the card today was made with an image from Stampotique and the paper is from a Stampin Up paper pack. The buttons and twine are from Papertrey Ink. My house is clean and dinner is about to head to the crock pot, so if I can get a grip on the laundry I'll be in good shape. But I would really rather nap.

Pie Day

2009-07-13T09:08:00.002-04:00

Not really pie day at my house as much as it was pie weekend. Last week Seth wanted to make a pie we call Marshmallow Mermaid Pie. We saw the movie Waitress which mentions this pie, but does not tell you what is in it, so we made up our own version at home. It is pistachio on the bottom and chocolate on top with a decoration of colorful marshmallows around the edges.

When I bought ingredients for this pie, I saw that half and half was on sale, which is the base for my cream pies, so I made 4 Banana Cream pies this weekend. Scott has two employees whose wives LOVE my banana cream pie so 2 of the piues will go to them and 2 went to people I know who are big fans of this pie as well. Not to be outdone, Scott and Noah made 2 strawberry pies. I have not tried them yet, but I can tell you strawberry pie and ice cream is calling to me from the depths of my fridge and I cannot wait to try them out.

I did make a card today but decided not to post it. The challenge at SCS was to make a card with a grid design on it. It was fairly easy to do, but making it look good added another diffuculty level.

We are off to karate and the library as our big plans for the day. I have no idea what dinner will be, but at least I have dessert covered!

Nativity in July

2009-07-11T11:38:00.002-04:00

I know, I know, you were hoping not to see Christmas stuff until all the school supply specials had cleared the aisles but someone at SCS thought a Christmas in July challenge was a good idea. Who am I to resist? Especially since my MIL cleared out her stamping stuff and it has been sitting around in my garage for about 18 months. I finally went through her box in an effort to sell off anything worthwhile and I came across a little gem of a set called Nativity Silhouettes. They are naming geniuses at Stampin' Up, eh?

I made a brayered background, stamped my image and added it to some of the denim like paper I had made for another challenge a couple of weeks ago. I added some dots from the Stamping Bella line and there you have it! I know it is a bit early to foist the holiday season on you already. Just remember, it is never too early to start making presents for me, or ordering them on line. I don't mind if you start preparing to spoil me now. Go ahead, give in to the urge.

After a few beautiful days we are going to have a rainy weekend which means indoor children. At least this will give them time to clean their rooms and the bathrooms. Oh, I love that they are old enough for chores! Steak and Shake still has their special where kids eat free on weekends, so no doubt we'll take the little boogers out for a free meal, too. I wanted to have a craft night with the girlfriends but they are all busy on different nights, so it will be more of the same for me, crafting alone and making whatever strikes my whimsy.

It Is Good To Be Home

2009-07-08T10:30:00.003-04:00

This card was made with my favorite set from Stampin' Up! It is called A Grateful Heart and the quote that is in the set is from George Herbert and is " O Thou who has given us so much, mercifully grant us one thing more, a grateful heart." I just love it. I made this for the sketch challenge on SplitCoast and thought vegetables were appropriate for the season, and I love the use of the purple on the card. Purple is so under used and under rated in the card world. The paper is from Bazzill and Daisy Bucket Designs. The lower right hand corner has a dot from Stamping Bella and some bling, too. I added pink ribbon and used oval punches from Stampin' Up!

It is good to be home from vacation. My kids thought that their time in Washington, D.C. was like a dream come true. I should be doing the mountains of laundry we have or working on the dishes or enjoying the dog. But I found that on this trip I really missed the computer. I had access while I was gone, but I hadn't realized how dependent I had become on checking in with friends, getting the news of the day, reading the web sites I enjoy. I can definitely see why some families have a laptop for each person. Maybe I need to get out more. But when I am out, I just want to come home and sit in peace and quiet and read, whether a book or magazine or on the computer.

Put On Your Travelin' Shoes

2009-06-28T14:58:00.004-04:00

This will be my last post for the next week or so. We leave tomorrow for Virginia and will be up bright and early. My friend Frdea is coming in from South Africa and will be on the road with us. I am just praying the boys are good in the van. They usually are, but having a guest makes me nervous.

I made this card for a SCS challenge this week. The challenge was to be Bold and Bright and this is about all I could muster. I grabbed a few scraps and popped them onto black. I colored the image with copics, then used glitter to help them look a little more fun. The aliens are from Stampotique.

Freda is arriving tonight and I feel like there is still tons to do. The laundry is done except for whatever last minute load we find tonight. We still have to pack up, load the van, get the dog to the kennell, get the ginea pigs to a friend. Even without company, the day before vacation is the busiest of times for me.

Free Wheelin' Friday

2009-06-26T14:31:00.002-04:00

I went to someone's house this week to learn how to make tote bags. She's the friend of a friend and she has a very fun and funky style. When I met her she had the coolest bag with her and I loved it. She said "come on over, I'll teach you." So we went over this week. Turns out she doesn't use measurements, she just eyeballs and cuts. She has a neighbor who sells furniture and he gives her all his old sample fabric pieces, so she had tons of odd ball sofa fabric for us to use up.

I chose a fabric with a floral theme and I liked the bird on it, too. I chose a complimentary inner fabric and went to work. One problem with not measuting or having a pattern is that I placed my inner pockets too high and sewed them shut when I did the trim and bead parts. Oh well, no one gets anything perfect the first time, right? Pockets are over rated anyway. The bag is also bigger than I really wanted, but I learned a new skill and now know how to recycle old fabrics. I had great fun doing it, too!

I made this card for a sketch challenge this week on SplitCoast. I took it out to the yard to photograph as we finally had some sun I could use for natural lghting. I think the card is lovely. The card was supposed to have three squares on it, but I changed it up a bit, while still keeping things in their correct places. The girl is a Ketto image from Stamping Bella and the saying is from Amuse. I made some paper flowers and used some felt flowers from Stampin' Up. The only problem? I like it too much to give it away.

Jambo!

2009-06-23T19:58:00.002-04:00

SplitCoast had a challenge the other day to add some text to your card that is in a foreign language. Apparently they don't know how old I am and how long it has been since I was in high school Spanish class. So, I had to turn to Africa to find a word. I chose the one word I could remember from my trip to Kenya two years ago. Jambo means Hello in Swahili. The only other word I could remember is Mzungo which means White person, and wasn't really fitting for my card. The image is from Rubbernecker stamps, which has such a great little line of African stamps that I think Iown them all. I colored with copics and used my paper piercing tool and some flowers, dew drops and brads.

I am filling my hors with entertainment for the children. We saw Paul Blartt Mall Cop today at the one dollar kids movies and I have to admit, it was a decent movie. I don't enjoy many kids' movies but I would recommend this one.

I hope whether your day brings you crafting or movies or kids, that you find a way to enjoy your day.

I Need Stronger Drugs

2009-06-22T11:05:00.003-04:00

This little guy from Doodle Factory has a cute coffee saying that goes with him, but I need something stronger than coffee to get through this week. I have company coming from South Africa next week, and we had planned a vacation already, so my friend will be vacationing to Virginia with us. I hope she likes 10 hours in the car with badly behaving children.

The morning routine is the same here, I need a quick shower, a Diet Rite and a protein bar while I make my card for the day. After that, I am theirs for whatever amusement they can suck from my old bones. They follow me around and tell me what they plan for the day or how I can spend more money on them, they turn on TV's and leave the room and come back to ask me to play with them. You'd think at 12 and 9 they could find amusement on their own, but no such luck. I know, people say I should feel blessed that they still like to spend time with me. I am okay with that. But every waking moment? Not so much.

We had an enjoyable time at Holiday World over the weekend even if the heat index was 101 degrees yesterday. And now I am back to the reality of having a husband who is trying to get to the bottom of his medical problems. He has been ill for about 2 months with a constant cough, then he also got swelling in his extremities and a rash. His doctor lost him in the shuffle and finally he got a CT scan and X rays last week. Next up? A PeT scan and a lung biopsy. Seriously.

My card was made for the challenge of making a background that looks like denim. I used Brocade Blue card stock, smeared it with Brocade Blue ink, Ballet Blue ink and then a layer of Whisper White ink. You smudge it on horizontally and then do it again vertically. Whew. Thankfully I used a whole sheet of card stock so I have plenty left over to use again. I love how it turned out, and I guess I need to learn more cool tricks like this since I have no local scrapbook or stamping stores.

Last week at Vacation Bible School Noah's class had to offer up their talents. You know, God gives us all different talents. Noah said his talents were making rubber band music and hand farts. Thank God he has something going for him. I am sure when he gets older the other prisoners on his cell block will be very amused.

Text Challenge

2009-06-19T15:54:00.002-04:00

The challenge of the day at SplitCoast yesterday was to use text on your card. I went looking through my papers, sure I had some background paper with text on it, and actually found I had this paper in two different colors! I used the set Quilter's Sampler from Papertrey Ink and a quote stamp that I had on hand.

Yesterday we had wild storms and rain all day again, thus no outside lighting for my photo. Today we have blistering heat. The newspaper reported that we have had nearly six inches of rain this month, and we average less than two inches in past years. I would just like some cooler days when we don't have rain. We seem to go from one extreme to the next and neither is fun.

I took the kids to a living history museum near us today and it was too hot for the kids. You know that is bad! My kids do not generally complain about the weather and just go with the flow of things. We did not even eat lunch there, as we usually do. It seems this season they have closed the indoor restaurant and moved it outside where an ice cream shop used to be. Seriously? Who wants to sit out in the heat to eat a sandwich? It's tough times for everyone I suppose.

We are going to Holiday World for the weekend to enjoy their water park. I am hoping the water is as cold as ice.

Workin' Hard

2009-06-17T09:16:00.003-04:00

Today's card is a wee bit dark thanks in part to my shade covered screened in porch. I keep thinking outside photos are so pretty and forget that in the morning my back porch does not have natural light as it faces west and the sun is still in the east. Note to self: Find a place in the front of my house that is suitable for photography.

The kids are up and ready early and I forget what I was hoping to do to entertain them today. Karate is not until noon. Darn the luck.

I have been crafting with kids at Vacation Bible School this week. Sometimes I can say no to volunteer opportunities (don't laugh, it happens once in a while). But this week I am the craft boss and it was my crazy idea to use Procion tie dye dyes to make batik fabric using a flour and water method I found on the internet. The MS and HS kids are great but the younger kids are wild. Their art will end up looking fine, but it is hard to keep them working amid all the ADHD and sugar energy in the room. I will show you a finished project once I get their fabrics through the wash. Tonight's craft is rolled up beads from left over magazine and scrapbook paper.

My card today is made with a pack of Stampin' Up paper and a stamp from Penny Black. I had loved this tamp when I saw it posted on line but couldn't find t as it was retired. I found it in a little stamp store last month and snatched it up. It is called "Spinning a Yarn" and the knitterly side of me is in love.

Monday Crafts

2009-06-15T14:51:00.002-04:00

Not much is happening here, but it is enough to keep me from card and scrapbook making. The boys were supposed to go to Karate today but I took them to the library first. Once they had books to read, they wanted to just stay home so we missed karate in favor of quiet time. We had grilled cheese and I spent some time putting together crafts for vacation bible school tonight at church.

At first I said I didn't need any helpers for craft time and now I am thinking I should not have tried to be a matyr. I need help! I will have to pick someone up at dinner time to give me a few minutes of service. Our church does an evening VBS starting at 6 PM with dinner and breaking for classes from 6:30 till 8PM. I am providing crafts for the different levels of kids from pre school through high school. The theme of the week is related to safari in some way so I am leading African crafts.

Tonight we are starting on batik projects and then we will move on to making beads from leftover magazine pages and scrapbook paper. The hardest job is just getting all the supplies ready and divided up into the different age groups.

I got a book on canning at the library today. Anybody can anymore? I never have done it, but know people complain about what a hot job it is. I'll have to see if it is something I want to tackle or not. I have dreams of giving away home canned foods at the holidays.

Indiana Weather

2009-06-12T15:09:00.002-04:00

I went out to the back porch today so I could capture a photo in some beautiful but fleeting Indiana sunlight. Pictures always look better in natural light, they say. unfortunately, I seemed to find the only piece of shade available on our porch. I thought of re taking the photo, then decided I didn't really care all that much. Oh, the lazy days of summer!

The challenge of the dayw as to use only the colors of sea or sky, blues, greys, browns and to use three items: paper piercing, brads, and ribbon. Score! I even used two different colors of ribbon. The stamp is from Hanna Stamps' newly released Dinosaur set. It's a must have if you have boys in the house. I am lovin' it for birthday cards.

I tried to get the boys to the pool earlier, but no luck. Now it is a little overcast and they are dying to go. They are wierdos, but they are my wierdos!

Pounding

2009-06-10T09:18:00.002-04:00

I woke up with a pounding headache today and am waiting for the Excedrin to kick in before I decide if I have enough energy left to create a card this morning. Some people are blessed with kids who entertain themselves, but I was not one of those people. Despite the fact that Noah had a friend spend the night I woke up with Noah in Seth's room, in his bed, bothering Seth who was screaming for his brother to get out. So, I decided to entertain you with photos of the boys when they promoted to gold belt in Karate a while ago.

Yahoo has a news article today about 8 ways that money can buy happiness. I can think of afew ways right now. A soundproof bedroom for me. A supernanny who comes to claim and entertain the kids in the morning while I get ready. A maid who comes daily. Yahoo was trying to make the point that if you spend money on material items you soon take them for granted. I don't know. I have friends with a home theater and I never take that for granted. It's the place of my dreams.

Yesterday was busy for us. I took a few meals to a friend who is recovering from surgery and then I took her three kids with us for the day. I had Steph's son with us already, so that gave me a total of 6 kids. We played at the park, hiked in the woods, and went to eat. I tried to stretch out the time by even taking them to the grocery so their mom would get in a few more minutes of peace and quiet. Today should be quieter: karate, lunch, the pool and general hanging out.

Sleepy on Sunday

2009-06-07T19:06:00.002-04:00

It's a beautiful day outside, but I still couldn't stay awake. I love a Sunday afternoon nap more than just about anything else in the week. I don't know why. Maybe because I take off my stiff church clothes and crawl back into bed for an hour or so.

The motorcycle Hanna was for the Saturday Challenge at SCS. They listed a design website (that slips my name right now.) I found a boys bedroom on the site that had a motocross theme and I thought Route 66 Hanna would be perfect. I used the colors of the room and the stripes in the card remind me of the stripes on the pillows in the room. I was definitely inspired by the site. I'll have to look it up and refer back to it, it had great design ideas for any room in your home.

I hope you are all enjoying beautiful weather, wherever you are.

Happiness

2009-06-05T10:09:00.002-04:00

The challenge yesterday was to make a card with an unusual image, not something stamped. I had torn out an ad from a magazine for the Ladies Number One Detective Agency series. It is a series of books written about a woman in Botswana and is becoming a TV series for HBO. I planned to make some necklace pendants with the bottom of the ad which featured a silhouetted safari scene. I used the main image from the ad for the focal point of my card. It was hard to get a photo of since the ad was on glossy paper, but I love it. I used paper from Basic Grey's Marakesh pack and added buttons to the corners. I know, I just said I hate buttons recently, but I am open to change.

The challenge today was a one layer card. I used Happiness Always from Stampin Up and scored around the edges of the card. I love that it is simple and it works.

The news in my life is that I am going to rotate off the Hanna Stamps Design Team. Seth is not very happy about it, declaring his undying love for the moose images. He is quite a stamper, so I feel his pain. When I told him it was time for me to rotate off the team he said I was like Hannah Montana. I didn't know what he was talking about but he was explaining that I used to have a secret life with Hanna Stamps. It is true, I never let my Stampin' Up demo know I was on a design team. She likes to be the most talented person in the room and I never wanted to tell her. When Seth and I went to her home for mom and kids craft nights I had sworn Seth to secrecy.

You have probably noticed the new layout on my blog, we have been working on it for a while and I have a few more small things to change around here. Not much else is going on in my world. We are going to the library yet again and will go to the pool if the weather is warm enough. Ahhh...the joys of summer. It gives me happiness.

Last Day of School

2009-06-02T14:41:00.002-04:00

Finally we end the school year, although nothing has been taught for about a week now anyway. Grades were due last Wednesday and the kids have been having Field Day, new school tours, a luau party, a bon voyage party, field trips, even yearbook signing for the day today!

I put together some end of the year gift baskets. They have Friendship Tea in them, stamped tiles, painted tea bag holders, post it note holders, hand gel and soap from Bath and Body Works, and a bit of chocolate.

I tried to fancy them up by tying them up with cellophane and a bow. The teachers were very appreciative and I know they look forward to vacation more than the rest of us. I was secretly hoping the baskets would help deplete items in my stash, but I don't seem to have made much room.

Hanna Stamps is having a contest to see who wants to be a guest designer for the months of September through February. They are looking for people who can creatively use their stamps in fun new ways. Check out the details on the Hanna forum on SCS for your chance to win a spot. I am looking forward to seeing how creative everyone is. I think this is a great way to find new talent.

Landscape Hanna

2009-06-01T08:25:00.003-04:00

I have seen these cards around but had not tried my hand at making one until now, it is called a Landscape card. If you make the folds go vertically rather than horizotally, it is called an Accordian fold. For my card I used the Route 66 Hanna set. She has lots of cute stamps in her set which made her perfect for a card with a lot of landscaping. The Route 66 set is a "retro" set, which is just to say it is a previously released set that is being highlighted this month. I think I may add some touches from the new Hanna dinosaur set, they seem like they would go together very well with this set.

Since it is the first Monday of the month, that means the Hanna Stamps release party will start at the Hanna forum at 9 PM tonight on SplitCoast. I love that there are contests and free prizes given away. Who doesn't love the chance to win a little something?!

I apologize for not having more sneak peeks to show you. My stamps did not come in the mail and I was sent digital images of a couple things, but I have a terrible time trying to get anything other than thin typing paper through my home printer. Once I get it through the printer, the ink smears with my copics and it just becomes more work than fun. There is a very cute set this month called Little Dresses and some adorable moose as well, a soccer moose, a mason and a graduate. You can check out other Design team members blogs as they should have them.
I am busy today wrapping up the last few days of school. There is an honor roll awards ceremony at school today and Seth will also get a certificate for perfect attendance this year. I have gifts to deliver and cookies to make and a last trip to the grocery before chaos reigns.

Saturday Sneak Peeks

2009-05-30T11:24:00.003-04:00

The challenge at SCS is to make a card with reference to Inspiration found in a book cover. They supplies a link to a book site and I chose a book called Wonderful World that had a mix of dark colors on the cover and something that looked like an explosion in the cosmos. I thought I'd make a card with similar colors and a small explosion in the bottom left hand corner, courtesy of a nestability die cut.

I am using the new dinosaur set from Hanna Stamps that is available Monday night. This set will be so handy to have in my house. Tomorrow I will show you something with a different set, maybe a retro set that hanna is promoting this summer? We'll have to see what tomorrow brings. Hanna has a lot of new fun stuff coming, but unfortunately this is the only new release I have. I picked this set up when I saw Kristi a few months back and the new Riley Moose sets were not in her hands yet. Hanna Stamps also released a graduation set in both the Hanna line (images of people)and the Riley line (images of moose), so you should check her web site for samples of those. They are very handy this time of year!

Stuck on a Sketch

2009-05-29T14:11:00.004-04:00

I used the sketch by 2sketches4you once more for today's card. It was hard to come up with an idea, I couldn't possibly be expected to come up with a fresh layout, too!

The SCS challenge today was to create a card with no coloring on it at all and only one piece of plain paper, but you could use as much designed paper as you want. Thank goodness for a Basic Grey paper pack, Archaic. The pack had lots of shades of colors that had very subtle coloring rather than bold designs. I paper pieced the items on my card and attached it to a scrap of cloud paper that I had. I also had some sand colored paper I made good use of as well. As always on Fridays, we are supposed to use limited embellishments so I have no ribbon or bling or anything extra on my card. It was hard to contain myself, I love nothing more than to add bling.

The card base is the only plain paper I used, you just can't see the designs in the other papers as it is so soft. It looks a great card for one of my sons to use as a birthday party card.

The stamps are a sneak peek from a new set that Hanna Stamps has coming out on Monday night at their Release Party. (Party starts at SCS at 9PM.) The set has a dinosaur theme and it will sure see a lot of use in my house, since I am the mother of dinosaur loving boys. Check back as I will have more sneak peeks all weekend long!

I Don't Like Buttons

2009-05-28T12:45:00.003-04:00

I don't care to use buttons on my cards, no matter how cute other people think they may be. Papertrey Ink is bringing out a whole line of buttons in their impossibly pretty color scheme. Me? I will not buy buttons and I stand strong in my conviction that it just adds too much un- needed bulk on my cards and scrapbook pages. As for buttons on my pants and such? When my fat won't hold my pants up, I find that I need them. But I generally only need one and not a whole fly full. They do have their place in my life, and I like it when they respect their assignment and stay there.

The challenge at SCS today was to create a card with a button, or lots of buttons. I recently made a card with a sketch from 2sketches4you and it was the perfect card sketch for a button. I used all Starving Artistamp stamps again. The little girl is from a Halloween set, but I dressed her for a birthday party instead and I am sure she will be the first to the pinata when it gets whacked open.

Another pet peeve about buttons? People who put them on cards and don't have any string in them to even pretend that they are tied on! Don't get me started on naked buttons, or before you know it. I'll be leading a ban on naked buttons in craft items. Want to sign my petition?

I am trying to decide between a quick trip to the grocery and a nap. I can run to the grocery when my oldest is home from school, but he will prevent me from napping. Hmmmm What to do...

A Day with the Creatures

2009-05-26T16:30:00.003-04:00

I made this for the color challenge at SCS today, I forget the exact shades, but it was a yellow, orange and light blue challenge. I tried to make the card and then had to run off to see the eye doctor before I could get it posted. I thought later today (after I could see again minus the dilation drops) that it looked a little dark so I changed the circle in the middle and sponged it with lighter colors as well as adding the little word "happy". I do like this second version much better. The creatures in both my creations today are from the Doodle Factory line by Starving Artistamps.

This is an updated version of the street scene I posted last week. Really it is just framed, but it's a nice finishing touch and really helps the piece feel complete.

Can I tell you how hard it is to recover from dilation drops? It was a bright sunshiny day and it just made me want to find the darkest eye shades possible. I had on sunglasses, but I still found myself squinting when I was outside. Yikes. I really just don't like the drops and their effects on my eyes. I suppose no one thinks it is fun.

The kids want to go swimming and I am declaring tonight leftover night because there is so much in the fridge we can eat that there is no need for me to cook. Plus, I couldn't see to cook for much of the day so I just didn't get it done today. I doubt anyone in my house cares anyway.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T15:15:00.002-04:00

Thankfully Scott fixed my camera for me, it was really just a lens jam. That said, I till did not use it for today's post, so you'll just have to imagine all the fun we are having. The neighborhood pool is open so we have been going back and forth all weekend and the boys are having a lot of fun playing with their friends at the pool. By mid August we won't be able to drag them there!

We went to the Old Navy one dollar sale on flip flops and came home with five pairs for the boys. Then Noah wanted to look for fake croc like shoes so we went around town to find those. Turns out it is not as easy as it sounds. Plus, he did not want dark colored shoes as he believed it would make his feet hot this summer. We did find two pairs for him at $4.99 each so that was a huge score. I was looking forward to colorful footwear for him, but he picked out grey and blue shoes. He is happy and that is what matters.

Today the kids are at the movies. I took some excedrin to help wake up and enjoyed an ice cream sandwich in peace. I am trying to enjoy the noise the kids bring me, but I will miss my quiet time as summer is almost here and that means kids in and out of my house all day.

Repitition

2009-05-21T19:50:00.002-04:00

The challenge of the day was to use the same stamp more than once on your card. I chose to use a new image (to me) from Stamping Bella. The Bella line has lots of cute girls in it, and I chose Charlotte. I stamped her, then used a reverse image block to.... well...make a reversed image. The block is from Hanna Stamps and I love finding ways to use it. It is so much fun! The paper is from a Basic Grey paper pack.

I also finished up this project. The houses in the back are stamped a few times and then I used pop dots to place my little creatures on. The size is close to something like 5x11and I am not finished yet. I have a few finishing touches to add and a frame to put it in. I dropped my little camera on the way to take the photos today so I had to use Seth's camera and I couldn't get the colors to look right. They are much darker and not as washed out in person. The lay out is from Vicki Garrett, who made a version of this with the neighborhood wheel stamp from Stampin Up. My stamps are from Starving Artistamps' Doodle Factory line. I have the creatures in both the large and small sizes so I plan to add them into lots of my upcoming stamping projects.

The weather is warm and I spent the day dropping off left over garage sale stuff at resale shops for a little spending money. I know I am cheap, I hate to donate what I can sell. In the long run it just means more craft supplies for me!

Bright Days

2009-05-19T21:19:00.003-04:00

Isn't this a fun card? I made it for the color challange at SCS today. We were to use Brilliant Blue, Only Orange and Pure Pomegranite. It is bright and bold and tons of fun. The moose is called Fins and I think the card is actually quite lovely in real life. the sentiment is from Hanna Stamps, too.

Do you see that little shiny dot in the upper right hand corner? It is called a schment and is from a pack of schments. They are sold by Stamping Bella and are sure to take the paper crafting community by storm, I think. They are flat and glittery and come in several mix and match sizes as well as tons of colors. Of course, you have to but them all individually and not in a multi size and color value pack. I put bling on the sides of my schment as I only have one color so far. It is part of the many goodies I picked up while road trippin' with my friend Candice to the stamping store, Papertrix in Nashville.

I met my friend Rebecca for lunch today and have plans for tomorrow, too. I have to get in my last round of fun before summer starts and I am ready to pull my hair out from the pizza and fast food diet that is induced from being with kids all day everyday.

Saturday Update

2009-05-16T16:54:00.002-04:00

I thought I should say hello, even though I don't have any photos to post. I have been busy this week getting ready for our neighborhood garage sale. Surprisingly, I did not have a lot to sell. Thankfully my friend Jenny had tons. My neighbors sold off their bionicles in a private sale to my kids, so money went back and forth through the neighborhood and we all had a good time.

Scott and the boys scored some suite tickets and will be off to the track tomorrrow while I am out of town for the day. I was tempted to cancel my plans at the last minute and go to the track as well. I hate to pass up the offer to hang out in the suites with friends, but I am going to a stamping store with a friend tomorrow, so it is a very tough decision to make. I decided to go stick with my original plan to go out of town since it was on the calendar first.

Meanwhile, the boys will be eating fried chicken and biscuits with apple butter while I am coloring and stamping. I don't care to go to the track much, but since we live nenar Indy, the 500 is the place to be in the month of May. Have I mentioned how much better sporting events are when suites are involved? I swear I could watch bull fighting if I had tix to a suite.

Monday I will be with my friend Maria painting. She is out of school (she works at a university in the Dentistry dept.) and I will be with her to start my week. I can't think of a better way to relax and hang out than being crafty with my friends. Plus, I always love to see what her talented hands have made. I have been painting for years, because she has been trying to teach me, but my painting is very simple compared to her elaborate projects. She is my inspiration!

Living on the Edge

2009-05-13T09:20:00.002-04:00

First up is this little cutie from Papertrey Ink, the Quilter's Sampler set. I rotated the sketch to make it work for me. I don't know where the quote came from, it's a random stamp I picked up somewhere a long time ago. I purposefully did not add a ribbon to this card. I tend to think all cards need a touch of texture, which is easily found in ribbon, but I decided not to add ribbon today. Living on the edge, I am! The paper is from PTI (Dark Chocolate) and an SU Variety pack.

And who can resist these little Doodle Factory monsters from Starving Artistamps? I love these creatures. I ordered the whole set for myself for Mother's Day. At less than 25 bucks I get about 8 or 10 creatures in both the large and small sizes. Score! I used paper from Basic Grey.

Not much is going on. After a couple of beautiful days we now have another dark and gloomy day. I am headed to my friend Jenny's house to pick up items to sell in our neighborhood garage sale this weekend. I have very little to sell, so I am glad I get Jenny's loot, too. She is moving, so she should have a lot to donate to my cause. Now I need to find friends and neighbors with tables I can borrow so I have somewhere to place all the loot.

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T08:36:00.003-04:00

This is a card for the Inspiration Challenge on SCS. The challenge was to find inspiration in the fabrics used by a cushion company. I cannot remember the name of the company, it had a French name that roughly translated to something like "My sweet cushion". I used Hanna Stamps' wedding set in the colors my niece used in her wedding two weeks ago. Someone made a comment on SCS that they are unusual wedding colors. Hey folks, I don't make this stuff up! The wedding was beautiful, the ladies wore yellow and the men wore black. It was a gorgeous spring wedding.

I used a cuttlebug folder to emboss the background and just added some ribbon, and colored the image with copics. Simple and pretty, the best combination.

For Mother's Day we went to my brother's church to see his daughter get baptized by immersion. It's one of those big white people mega churches in a small town. Well, not really a mega church by mega church standards, but very large for their small town. What surprised me was that as we wondered lost through the church looking for the Baptism area, not one person spoke to us. No one greeted us, no one even said hello in passing. No on pointed us in the right direction. There is nothing I like less than a non friendly church. Well, I like even less the fact that there are only men on the staff in ministry positions, but that is a rant for another day. You folks come here for goodness and light and crafting ideas, don't you? And now I have just offended many of you with my liberal ideas.

So, afterwards we lunched with family and hung out at my brother's, then came home to nap and had friends over for dinner. They say Mother's Day is the busiest day in the restaurant industry and I successsfully avoided having to compete with the crowds. I also ordered myself some stamps from Starving Artistamps for my present. I love it when I get just what I want!

Thursday Update

2009-05-07T08:48:00.003-04:00

Not much is happening this week. I spent yesterday with my friend Jenny and her two daughters. We were going to spend the day crafting, but we always underestimate the amount of time little kids suck out of you. I got some cards made and helped her a bit.

The top card is for today's challenge to use Kraft paper. Having recently stocked up on some kraft paper from Papertrey Ink, I was in good shape. I used Hanna Stamps' new set Pool Party and paper pieced the swimmers onto the blue paper. Isn't the little swimming dog adorable?

Yesterday the challenge was a sketch challenge and I flipped the sketch to a horizontal lay out. I popped Riley Moose up on pop dots so he really stands out in real life. The scene in the back is the Neighborhood stamp wheel from SU.

I am meeting my mom for lunch today. She recently started crafting and has a Cricut. (It's an expensive electronic die cut machine.) She loves to tell me how much she loves it, and how I need one, too. I don't know where she thinks a few hundred dollars for an optional crafting device would come from, plus all the money that would be spent on cartridges. If she brings it up at lunch again, I may just bite her head off. She truly forgets what it was like to raise kids on a budget.

Wedding Favors

2009-05-04T09:22:00.002-04:00

Good thing I am in a wedding mood, I loved my niece's wedding last week and have tons of ideas about how to get the part started with wedding stamps. I need to move on, but I just can't, I am having too much fun. I made some little wedding favors to highlight Riley and Sophie, aren't they the cutest?

I am really looking forward to the release part tonight, too. I love the contests and seeing what evryone has made. This is really my favorite time of the month. I hope to see everyone tonight online around 9PM for the party at SCS.

Today is a beautiful day and I want to go get the oil changed in my car, and get it washed and get some groceries so we can grill out tonight. I really have to learn how to start the grill so we can eat at a decent hour. The kids don't care, they could play all night and not stop for dinner. But me? I need dinner. And I like it at 6PM. Too many years of living on a schedule, I think. My biological clock is set and cannot be denied.

Wedding Wishes

2009-05-03T14:39:00.002-04:00

Hanna Stamps is having a "Retro Summer" and highlighting some previously released sets. The two for this month have a wedding theme, a wedding Hanna Stamps set and the wedding Moose stamp. Lucky for me, Scott's niece got married last weekend so I had plenty of ideas on what to make with the wedding sets.

I made Mary and her new husband luggage tags for their honeymoon trip. You can put whatever personal info you want on the back (or really the inside) of the tag, so your info isn't hanging out there for the world to see.

I love Sundays. It is a beautiful sunny day and I managed to squeeze in a nap.

Don't forget to join us for the Release Party at SCS Monday night at 9PM. The full sets will shown during the party if you are one of the people who just can't wait to see what's goin' on. (Like Me!) I Love a good party. especially one I can attend in my jammies.

Retro Summer

2009-05-02T10:16:00.002-04:00

Hanna Stamps is having a retro summer, where stamps from the past are highlighted. For May one of those stamps is the wedding of Riley and Sophie. I made this card for the inspiration challnge on SCS. We were to pick a dress in the Fabiana prom dress line for inspiration and the one I chose was number 6425 and was hot pink. I used Raspberry Fizz paper from Papertrey Ink, which looked like a perfect match.

Today it is suposed to be a little cooler than I expected but my day will be full of yard work, like shoveling mulch and watching my husband mow our shaggy yard. We have had rain for the past four days so we have to tackle the yard while we can.

Sneak Peeks

2009-05-01T12:26:00.002-04:00

Today is the start of sneak peek releases of the newest Hanna Stamps sets. I am showing you pool tags I made for my kids and a neighbor. We go to our neighborhood pool a lot in the summer and the big question among the kids is always "Does this belong to you?" We all have a pretty open policy about bringing things to the pool, if you bring it, you share it. The pool tags will be helpful when the kids want to borrow something, they'll know who to ask for permission before they make off with an item.

I am in love with this set, called Pool Party. It has adorable children it and even a little dog in a floatie. Too cute! I did some stitching around the tags, but it is hard to see. It might be better if you don't see it, then you'll know why sewing is no longer my hobby. Hanna has two new guest designers this month but I'll come back and update their info already. I lost the scrap of paper I wrote the info down on. I know, shame on me. It happens enough you'd think I'd stop writing on scraps, but no such luck.

Hanna Stamps' release party will be on SCS at 9PM and the new sets will be available that night at the party. Look around the other DT member blogs for sneak peeks on the To The Beach set. If you are a beach person, rather than a pool person, you will love it. Well, I love it, too, but I don't have it to show you sneak peeks of!

New Riley

2009-04-29T09:43:00.003-04:00

A while back Hanna Stamps rleased a hockey Riley. I just got my new Riley so I had to use it! I made a birthday card for a friend who is hockey crazy. The design is from the sketch challenge at Splitcoast. The paper is from basic Grey's cupcake pack. In real life this card is bold and fun.

Not much is new here other than my rubber stamp. The boys are now yellow belts in karate, they tested yesterday and are very happy to have moved up a belt level. Scott had a birthday Monday and I made him a Strawberry cake. Seth is refusing to eat it, because he is mad I did not make a chocolate cake. I do make a good chocolate cake, but I can branch out with success as well.

I did get the best ever cupcakes from my friend Nana, who is the nicest person I know. Carrot Cake, yum. Now that is my favorite, and Scott's, too. You have not lived a good life until you have tasted Nana's carrot cake! She put them in the cutest cupacke box, too, so the presentation is gorgeous. Everybody needs a nana in their life, she makes the world a better place.

Crazy Neighbors

2009-04-27T14:33:00.002-04:00

The pencils in the photo have a pirate motif on them so I knew they would go perfect with the Wee Hanna set from Hanna Stamps. The challenge on SCS today was to use marbles and reinkers to color your paper. I used alcohol inks instead of reinkers and apparently used a lot more than needed as my colors are more vibrant than many of the other challengers. I used glossy paper and I really like how it turned out.

I made a little tag for Teacher Appreciation Week, which is coming soon. The first day of the week is traditionally "send in a school supply for your classroom teacher day." It is followed by days where you send in a sweet treat, a flower, a nice note for your teacher...just little things but the teachers seem to like it.

Noah got a gardening book yesterday which he has been devouring. He got our neighbors to allow him to take a graft of their apple tree so he could plant the graft and try to grow a tree in our yard. I am trying to talk him out of it. I read in the book "The $64 Tomato" that you actually need to different kinds of apple trees close to each other so the bees cross pollinate them in order for them to grow. I asked the neighbors about the grafting thing and their reply was that they'd be moving soon so they didn't care. Well, I do care. Apples can be a lot of work and I'd like to work on gardening more than starting the orchard Noah wants. After all, he won't be doing the upkeep, no matter what he promises. We know better.

Busy Busy Friday

2009-04-24T16:57:00.002-04:00

After a year of two of having these socks on the needles and no desire to finish knitting the, I have them finished! The yarn looked so cute on the skein in the store and much less desirable once it was wound. I cannot stand to have things undone though, so I had to finish these once I started.

The hanna Stamps challenge today was to make a 3D item, so I made a clock. I know, I know, you have seen this trick before, but I wanted to do it again. Both my kids want it right now, so we'll see where it ends up. The clock is from WalMart and you can just pop off the plastic cover and alter it to your heart's desire. Maybe altering clocks will become one of my craft night classes in my home,who knows?

The SCS Challenge was to make a card that shows off the colors of a room in your home. Our bedroom is actually orange with a brown accent wall. That was my original goal for colors, but actually, every room in our house is a different color, so I don't mind having a hodge podge of colors in my card. I am very allergic to cats, so I don't have any, and certainly would never kiss one, but I thought this quote was too funny not to use. The cats are from the new Hanna Stamps set, Granny Hanny, which I adore. There is an older lady in the set and she just cracks me up. I can tell it will be a set I use again and again.

We are going out of town this weekend for a family wedding and are really looking forward to seeing everyone and having fun this weekend. I hope you all have a nice weekend full of fun too.

Up and At 'Em

2009-04-22T14:27:00.002-04:00

Scott wakes me up in the mornings. It works for me. around 7 AM he comes back up to the bedroom, turns on the TV to the Today show and gently wakes me with sweet kisses. It's a great way to start the day. Well, today he forgot! I rolled over in bed and realized it was a little too light out. It was 7:40. I ran and woke up Seth and told him he'd better get moving. I was still able to shower, dress and make lunch before the bus came at 8:15. Whew. But now that I woke up so quick, I have been moving at high speed and getting things done all day long. It's a great day.

The challenge today is a sketch challenge and I used the Train Riley with some left over die cut train track from my scrapbooking supplies. The cloud paper is from Reminisce and is called Cloud Puff.

I went to knitting class and got help with my killer sweater project and finished one sock. I'll finish the second one tonight while I am at a church meeting, so my life is good.

I Just Don't feel Like Myself

2009-04-21T10:05:00.003-04:00

This beauty is called Dress Up Hanna and she comes with several dresses that can be paper pieced and put on her. I used a piece of a basic Grey paper pack for her dress. The color challenge at SCS today is Pink, Red, and Grey. I forget their full names, in all their aliterativeness. I liked the ribbon until I posted the card, and now I think I might take it off and add some greenery to the flowers instead. My cards always look good until I post them for all the world to see, and then I find changes I'd like to make.

I am off to get my hair cut today. I have been putting it off due to the e onomy but there is only so much a girl can take. Great Clips is having a $4.99 hair cut sale, and while it works great for all the men in my family, I just can't bring myself to go anywhere except to Kevin, my hair man. I am sure I will feel better this afternoon after my mini makeover.

Many of you know I have a special needs child (on the Autism Spectrum) and we had the annual case review recently at school. He will be moving into Middle School next year and we needed to decide how much he is mainstreamed in classes and how much he is pulled out for specialized education. If he goes to the special classes, they are smaller and more detailed toward his individual needs. But, he can do okay in a full day of regular classes, he will just require more "extra" help if he doesn't understand something. It is a hard decision, as I think everyone would do better in smaller classes tailored towards their needs, and the desire to want a child who does not require special care and circumstances.

It is cold and rainy here and if I did not have tons to accomplish today I would love to crawl back into bed and start the day over again later. I would do just that, but if I cancel my hair cut, it will take forever to get back in to see Kevin again. I am going to resolve to stay strong and go out into the cold, wet and dreary world.

I lack motivation

2009-04-20T15:08:00.002-04:00

Do you see this sweater? Okay, supid question, I suppose you do. I fell in love with it. It is a display model at my knitting store and upon seeing it I squealed in delight and demanded a class just so I could make one, too. Only yellow, as beautiful as it is, probably isn't a great color for my washed out pale skin. So, I chose some yummy blue yarn with which to make this swetaer. And I am having a tough time of it. I have about five inches, maybe 6, done. The teacher of my class was hoping to have me near done with it by this point. But I really am the world's slowest knitter with ADD.

Today I found a mistake in my knitting which means I get to rip back and inch or so. Seriously people, that is days of my life I will never get back. But I like it to much to not knit it, so I just plug away slowly since no one else has volunteered to knit it up for me. I need some knitting fairies in my life.

And papercrafting? Not so interested. I did look at the challenge today and it involved gesso, which I don't own and magazine pages. I just wasn't into it. So I let it go by. Tomorrow is a color challenge, maybe I'll feel motivated then. Maybe not.

Gesso, by the way is a product people use for priming soon to be painted surfaces.

Let me know what motivates you these days. I am going to organize photos now. Not exciting, but needs to be done.

Train Riley

2009-04-15T16:16:00.003-04:00

The SCS Challenge of the Day was a sketch challenge and I used a new Riley that Hanna Stamps recently released, Riley the Train Conductor. I can't tell you how much I wish I had this stamp when my boys were little and into Thomas the Tank Engine. Riley is so cute in all that he does. I used acetate that was run through the Cuttlebug and embossed for the background and the colorful papers are from a Basic Grey pack.

I had knitting class today and I had to admit that the sweater I am knitting will not be anywhere near finished by the end of class. It is a cardigan and I am a very slow knitter, so this might take me forever, or just feel like forever. I do like the sweater, so I am committed to seeing it finished. I had an odd conversation at class, though.

Another lady in class, a freindly Grandma,was talking about her granddaughter who lives in Sierra Leone, Africa. Turns out her daughter is a Defense Lawyer for the UN and is currently assigned to the case of Charles Taylor. Taylor is one bad dude. He led a revolution in Liberia and had many people murdered at his command, mainly anyone who opposed him. There is a special court convened to hear his case at The Hague and he faces 11 counts of international violations, including recruiting child soldiers. As much as I believe him to be GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY, if the guilty can't get fair trials, there isn't much hope for the innocent. So, while I hope his defense attorneys do their best, I hope they are not good enough to get him a clean slate.

Whew. Who knew you'd get a dose of African politics here today? I am currently very near the end of reading "Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah, a child soldier in Sierra Leone, so this subject I actually know just a tiny bit of a one sided viewpoint about. My friend Maria loaned me the book and now I feel like I need to keep my ears open. Reading this and talking about Taylor in knitting class is an odd coincidence. I will have to keep my eyes open for more on these subjects as I feel I must be gearing and reading about all of this for some reason.

Hi Honey, I'm Home!

2009-04-13T17:34:00.002-04:00

You can tell we are from the Midwest by the fact that we don't care how cold or cloudy it is, we are going to the beach, by golly! The first few days in Myrtle Beach it was a bit cold for our liking. That meant it was really cold and windy at the beach. We toughed it out and had fun anyway. The kids had boogie boards and they were going to put them to good use. We drove home Friday and Saturday just in time to turn around and drive to Fort Wayne for Easter with Scott's family. Seth loved the easter egg hunt, but this year Scott's parents did not out any candy in them. The kids just hunted for empty eggs. Once in a while my in- laws do something that just makes me want to go "Hmmmmm..." But Seth had fun and each of the kids got five bucks so they were very happy.

The kids got their usual loot at home. Seth wanted the Easter Bunny to leave a photo of himself, but what he got was a little blurry. Really, the Easter Bunny is pretty busy so I am sure he could not hold still for long, and he head to take a self portrait! What did the biy expect?!

Scott's niece is getting married in about 12 days and the family is pitching in to help with the reception. I volunteered to bring buns for the hog roast. Anybody know where the outlet store is? They think 300 people will come. I am guessing some people will eat their pork without a bun? Any idea how much I should buy? I have a feeling I need to start stocking up my deep freezer in buns right now. I chose buns as they don't have to be cooked or kept cold for the road trip. It seemed easy enough at the time.

Too Much Fun

2009-04-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

I tell you what, Granny Hanny is crackin' me up. The set is from Hanna Stamps but the saying is from River City Rubber Works. I don't know why, I guess I was just born with an odd sense of humor. I am loving the Granny Hanny set like no other.

I promise to show you something more, whenever I come home and can craft again I'll post aagin with our fresh new sets.

Cats

2009-04-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

Do you know I am not really a cat person? It comes in part from being horribly allergic to them. I do enjoy the cats that are in the Granny Hanny set however. They are totally allergen free. I could not resist making my own saying on the computer and using the cat stamps. The cats in the set look perfectly mangy, which makes the saying even funnier in my opinion.

I am still on Spring Break, I hope you all are finding happiness wherever you are.

Granny Hanny

2009-04-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

I love the new Granny Hanny set coming out at the Hanna Stamps release party tonight on SplitCoast. The set just cracks me up! Check out the gallery or party for more images. Or click on the hanna ladies links in my sidebar to go straight to their blogs. There are three new sets and two new Riley Moose stamps available starting tonight at 9PM. Come and join the party! It is all happenin' at SCS, come on over!

I Love My Doctor

2009-04-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

If you are my friend in real life, you know one thing for sure, I love my doctor. He is nice and handsome and smart and kind. Goodness gracious, is he kind. He stole my heart the first time I met him. Don't worry, my husband knows how I feel, and once he got over the oddity of it, he grew to accept my weirdness.

So, it was natural that when I got my medical set from Hanna Stamps that I made a card for my doctor. See...it's me with my clothes on and my doc pointing at some girly parts, but of course the nurse is in the room to make sure no boundaries are crossed. I even have my clothes on!

The splayed legs are from the Hanna set that was released this fall. I can't remember the name, but it has Hanna jumping into a leaf pile.

My doctor will laugh out loud when he gets this card. I always make cookies everytime I go to the doctor, sometimes they have even gotten pies. The upside is that they never forget me and I always get free samples.

Check out the awesome Hanna sneak peeks that the other ladies have, just click on them in my sidebar. Don't forget to party with us on SCS Monday night starting at 9PM.

Release Weekend

2009-04-02T14:54:00.006-04:00

If you are a follower of Hanna Stamps you have realized that we are now releasing new stamps and sets on Mondays, rather than Thursday nights. this time around there is a new set being released that has another man in the set. I wonder how many of my readers can name the other two legs in this set? The legs on the left belong to our newest release, which is a medical set.

I couldn't resist making this as a little sneak peek of what is to come. If you want to see more of this set, check out the other Hanna ladies' blogs or SCS for more images.

The paper is from a Basic Grey pack and the sentiment was made on my computer.Don't forget to come to the release party Monday night at SCS and be sure to check out the other ladies' blogs for new sneak peeks as well!

No Mojo

2009-04-02T14:42:00.003-04:00

I don't know where my desire to create went, but it's gone. Possibly buried under the piles of laundry I have to do so we can go on Spring Break. I did manage to get Seth a birthday cake, which he helped decorate.

And I ordered some new stamps from Art Declassified. I met Karen Desmet, the owner, this weekend in Michigan and I fell in love with the possibilities of what could be done with her stamps. I thought that since they were unmounted that she would just throw them in an envelope and put them in the mail. But no! Look at her great packaging. The stamps come with a cd box bearing their image so I can store them easily and keep them organized. I do love great organization.

I could not wait to get out my laser paper and stamp in StazOn to see how the stamps would work. The laser paper gives a great slightly glossy look that make sthe stamps look more photo realistic. Now I just have to play with them and see what I want to make.

I did make some dominoes. I know, you are not surprised. I did pick up some Adirondack alcohol ink markers this weekend as well and they are great on dominoes. I just have to decide if I want to color these images or leave them in black and white.

Sorry for the slight fuzziness of the picture, it's just the way it is in my world. I am going to put a pin back on one of these immediately because I can't wait to wear them.

Home Again

2009-03-31T14:47:00.002-04:00

I feel like I can't blog unless I post a photo, too. I don't have any idea whaere that comes from, but it is some odd self imposed rule I tend to follow. I haven't created anything new lately...at least not in the last 48 ours. So, I am posting an "old" photo, from way back in last week when I made my name tag for my weekend excursion. What you can't se are the pop dots under my moose and heart tag, giving them great depth and dimension. Just believe me, it's stinkin' cute. It is also prettier than the ones we wear at church. I'd wear this to church, but nobody likes a show off, especially in the Lord's House.

I went to get some cupcakes and ice cream cups to share with Seth's class tomorrow for his birthday.(The little booger will be nine!) I have been to Target, Walmart, the grocery, the knit store, Michaels and Sam's. Even had lunch with a friend. I have to start dinner and then run the kids to karate and maybe make a cake. I might bake tomorrow, I do better baking when the kids are not underfoot.

I enjoyed my time away this weekend. The dog enjoyed me being gone, too. When no one was looking she ate all of the candy Seth had collected at the neighborhood easter egg hunt. She ate it, wrappers and all, and seems no worse for wear.