A New Year Already???

Hi! Just popping in a minute to wish you a very Happy New Year!

I have been a little MIA, mainly because I have been here:





So much fun! More about that later...


For now, I hope 2008 has been fabulous for you. It's had its ups and downs for me. More good than not. I turned 30 and I am looking forward to the decade ahead. There has also been plenty of learning along the way...

I still cannot believe it's coming to an end already! 2008...you'v been good to me! Now, here's to 2009! I will be back then with more to chat about.

Until then, here's to the New Year and all it's possibilities.....

The Cookie (Flop) Exchange

For some reason I have lost my baking abilities. Not sure how, or why or where they went to, but they're gone. Maybe it's the pressure of the cookie exchange party. I don't know. I do know that two years in a row now, this is what happens the first batch or two....or three...

Here is example one:



Snickerdoodles gone terribly wrong


And here is example two:



Butter Cookies gone smooshed and *slimy*

You see? At least this year was better than last year. Last year, the first three batches of snickerdoodles were, well, just like the first picture above. I had to completely re-do the whole thing and start over. It. took. forever. I was supposed to show up to the "cookie exchange" by 7pm. That's when it started. I finally arrived there at 7:30, being that I had pulled the last batch out right at 7. Yeah, fun.

This year, the first batch looked like the picture above with the smooshed stars. At least I quickly realized I had forgotten to add the rest of the flour and it was quickly remedied. Although, my son saw them in the oven and said, "mom? they look kinda slimy!". Gee, thanks kiddo. I assured him it was just the butter melting all over the cookie sheet because I forgot the rest of the flour. The *slimy-ness* apparently didn't deter him from eating the smooshed and ultra buttery stars, since I caught him snitching a few "to taste test".

I am not sure why I put myself through this. I'm not even a major cookie person. Why do I go to cookie exchanges? I have no answer, other than that I enjoy the good company. And, there are some seriously good cookies that even I, the not so much on cookies person, does enjoy. And I even get the recipe for it! Although I have yet to make cookies from the recipes, but I sure do have some good ones when the occasion ever arises!


Anyone else have this kinda trouble with cookies? Or any other type of baking/cooking disaster that's happened to them this time of year?

Fish Need Trees Too

Apparently our new Beta Fish needed some trees too. Or so my son thinks.



We took some tinsel pipe cleaners and wrapped them around our fingers and, viola! Little tiny tinsel trees!

Do they make ornaments for such small trees? I'm not sure I am inclined to make some that small...

Advent Calender

A little project I am (still) working on. It's still able to be used, but my son has let me know with certainty that "mom, you haven't even finished sewing the numbers on! They can only go to FOURTEEN!"





Have no fear child, it will be done. Even if it's the number of the day I am sewing....it will be finished by the time they reach the stable.

Thanksgiving

I did it. I conquered the turkey! I had never done a turkey before until this year. Not by myself anyway! But this year I did. We hosted Thanksgiving and it was wonderful.



We also made some fun little crafts I saw over HERE with the kiddos. We chose to make them completely out of felt.





This is one my niece did....completely by herself! She is really getting into the crafty thing and wants her Auntie Jaime to teach her more. I cannot tell you the warm fabulousness that gives me! Just a year ago she was content to watch. Now, she's asking to use the needle and thread on her own and I have to say, not too terrible for her first go at it.She loves anything to do with art and creating, so I am happy to encourage her! She says she wants a little sewing kit all her own so she can come for visits and make stuff with me. You betcha Mely!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy the quiet moments before the holiday rush....

Embroidery Hoopla!

There once was a very sad wall (that for the life of me I could not get a decent picture of being how the lighting was). It was blank and lonely.



It desperately needed something....poor, lonely wall above my bed. We recently repainted the master bedroom with a calm blue. We added some chocolate brown curtains and it all worked well together. However, what to do with that wall about drove me nuts!
Our beds headboard is lacking a little. Just straight and nondescript, really. I saw this one print of tulips at IKEA that seemed perfect, but I was afraid our room would look more like something out of their catalogue. Not that that's too terrible a thing, I just wanted something a little more personalized-ish. More us. More me?



I remembered seeing a fun idea here a while back, so I thought I'd give it a try.



I also had some fabric that I bought like four or more years ago ( wow!) that I had intended for another project that never came to fruition, so it sat in my stash waiting.....



Waiting for me to stop arranging the embroidery hoops I picked up at a newly opened Hobby Lobby just down the way from me. How convenient!



Then, Tada!



Another view. For the life of me, I could not get the pictures to take quite like the light in the room looked. I had to brighten them up a bit, but still does not do it justice. You can also see how blah our headboard is in this pic. However, now the wall is no longer lonely.



I only had the two prints to work with. I got five hoops and nothing else in my stash really worked well for the fifth hoop, so I took some natural linen I had and embroidered it with our initials. I know, so cheesy, but it works. And, I'm sappy like that. But it adds just the personal touch I was going for and it blends together just nice.

The embroidery hoops worked out well for this. Although, I have to say I would not have wanted to use them for actual embroidery. They were pretty rough and splintery. Good for this type of project though. And they were inexpensive enough to not break the bank dressing up a wall.

I think what I like best about this, is that I can change it out if I were to ever want to. For now though I will just enjoy the no longer lonely wall, with pretty fabrics now artfully displayed in embroidery hoops....

Some Patchwork Fun

Boys. I love my son very much, but he sure can be hard on his clothes...especially pants!



See what I mean? Poor pants, they only made it one wear before this happened.



I was trying to think of something simple, but still fun that would work to patch these puppies up. I had some green corduroy hanging around begging to be used, that just do happened to already have some heavy duty iron on adhesive attached. So, I used it! I cut it into a star shape. Practical but still fun and still cool enough for a five year old to wear to school. Very important.



Tada! All patched up. However, being that it was a clear, round hole, I decided to cut another star out of some striped cotton I have. I placed that on the underside of where the corduroy star on the outside was placed. That way, they would fuse nicely without any sticky-ness happening and causing me to iron the first star to the backside of the leg. That would be no fun.



Here's a look at the inside of the pants leg. There was another tear just beginning, so I decided to try and head it off with another cotton I had with some fusible. Just ironed it on the underside there to hopefully keep the other hole from getting too far....yeah, good luck with that one! I'm sure it will need a star of it's own soon...

This Handmade Life

I have only given a little hint into our beginnings of the adoption process, but already some are taking notice! Jodi over of This Handmade Life was sweet and wonderful enough to not only feature my Little Shop, but some other fabulously talented Mamma's to be shops as well. The one thing we all have in common? Adoption.

So, if you're still in need of some holiday goodies, go check out her post and the delightful shops! What a great way to support handmade and adoption.

Also, don't forget to check out Jodi's etsy shop while you're at it...fun stuff!

It's a Thankful Time

I know Christmas is just around the corner, and so many are focused on it and getting their handmade goods finished in time for the giving. I, too, am among those attempting to finishing up gifts. However, I want to take a moment for this month-the month Thanksgiving happens. I love Thanksgiving. I love how it's not about gifts or the harried rush of the holidays. Growing up, it's been about family and being thankful for what you have. Whether it be a large family or small....dinner for ten or just two, there is so much to be thankful for.

So, in honor of one of my favorite holidays, here is a simple list of things I am thankful for today:

-My husband. He loves me no matter what, even when I seem unlovable
-My small, yet fun family of three..plus our dog who is always entertaining
-My son who offered his whole entire savings in his soccer bank to put into our adoption fund
(I told him thank you, but maybe he can help mommy and daddy think of some other ways to contribute)
-That my husband and I are beginning the process of adoption. Yes, it's not something I have said much about, but it's very near to my heart. I am so very thankful my little family is so excited about the journey.
-My 81year old grandmother. She is one amazing woman still going strong. And she taught me to sew.
-My sister. There are friendships and there are sisters, but to have both is something special. Not to say those without sisters don't have very special friendships, I am certain they do. Just for me, my relationship with my sister is something I cherish.
-For our one car. I thought it would be crazy to just go to one, but it's been fabulous and we've gotten to spend some fun family time together getting to and from places.

I could go on, but I will stop at that for today. I want to know about you...what are some things you are thankful for this day?

Matryoshka Love

There is no doubt about it. I simply love these types of little dolls.



These are some I made last year out of felt.





I hand embroidered the design in burgundy on an ivory background.



I had originally done the design to make some Matryoshka dolls to put up in my Etsy shop, but they never actually made it there. I still have plans to do so, just not sure when.



These are actually much smaller versions made into an ornament.



I really had a lot of fun making these. I have thought about putting together a pattern for them because they are so much fun to make and are also a nice addition to the tree. Or anywhere really you would want to place them. Who says ornaments can only be out during the holidays?

Little Bunny Foo Foo

While walking yesterday on some trails close by with the hubby and super silly siberian, we happened upon a bunny. Now, this might not seem so unusual being in a natural setting and all, but it was not the usual native Texas bunny that you would think you would happen upon!

As a matter of fact, it just hopped right on up to us, completely undaunted by the fact the my siberian husky desperately wanted to play with ( or chase ) it. It was not the slightest bit afraid and I just stood there and starred in awe that this VERY fluffy bunny was hopping around. There was another lady and her little girl close by. They came over to see the bunny....we all stood there wondering why this little fluffy bunny was just wondering around...in a snake habitat area! Yes, not that it's there on purpose, but there is an area that is cautioned to be aware of snakes...eek! I thought the sweet little thing looked similar to an angora, but surely that couldn't be the case. Why in the world would an angora bunny be wondering around on the hike and bike trails! It obviously was not afraid of us, or the dog (still desperately wanting to play..chase...the bunny and was getting harder to hold back). So, we wondered who we should call?! The nice lady and her daughter had a phone and she said she would call someone. I mean, you can't just leave a sweet little fluffy bunny there now, can you?! No, of course not!

Obviously, I could not take the bunny home because my doggy would have, uhm, chased it into oblivion and I would have cried. It was hard enough trying to keep her from taking off after it while dragging her away from the sweet little bunny. I had faith that the nice lady would take care of it. After all, she had about a two year old with her that was completely fascinated with the fluffy bunny I nick named "bunny foo foo". Seriously it was fluffy!

So, on we went and later when I got home, I looked up angora......and there it was.....the same bunny we just saw. Well, a different one, but the same type. Oh, it made me sick to think about it. Poor little bunny foo foo was obviously someone's lost pet! There are some houses close by there, so that would explain how it was completely unafraid of us...and the dog. It's owners must have a dog. A big dog. I really hope the bunny foo foo and that nice lady made friends and that the fluffy bunny is okay and out of harms way. Because, ya know, it's not just any kind of bunny, it's an angora bunny!

Unfortunately, I have no pictures to show you of the fluffy bunny. I had no camera. I had no phone. Normally I at least have my phone. But nope, not this time.

Here's to you Bunny Foo Foo....hope you are safe and happy!

Have You Seen Her?!

Get some holiday shopping for the little ones done! Starts this Friday!



Pass it on....

Monday, Monday...

A little something I am working on for my wonderful SIL. She asked if I could help her out with some "Days of the Week" towels, so I said SURE! Then she said she would need seven sets....I can do this I said, sure! So, I am. We tossed around some ideas and this is what we collaborated on together. She's excited, I'm excited and it's just gonna be great....once I finish them all!



Really though, they are not that terribly difficult. I decided to use a simple running stitch for the "days" part and we are adding fun fabric to the edge of the towel for each set. Fun, huh? Makes a unique and personalized gift I think.

So, that is just one project of a bazillion I have going on here at the moment. Tell me, is it REALLY November already?! Sheesh!

Placemat dilemma

I've had this idea for a while to make some simple, yet fun place mats that also just happen to be somewhat educational. The reason? For my son to remember how to set the table when he's helping me out at dinner time. Really, he already knows how, but sometimes he just needs a little reminder. I figured I need some more table linens, why not make some that are fun and practical! I also want to make then super easy to clean, so I am going to try out some of the special iron on vinyl I got a while back just for this purpose. Did you know about this stuff?! You can turn any fabric you love into something you can just wipe clean! How nifty is that? I just love products like this. Granted, the other place mats I have can be washed, but darn it if they don't get stains I cannot get out.



The dilemma? Trying to decide which fabric combo to use....

When I figure it out, I will be back with more pictures and how-to's.

Fun with Pumpkins

This past weekend we went to one of my most favorite places...Sweet Berry Farms! It's a good drive out, but very worth it.


There are pumpkins galore...every kind you could possibly imagine!





all kinds of fun activities







There was also this pretty little field of flowers they have at one stop on the hayride where you can pick them and fill a little buckets worth for about $1. I didn't pick any, but they were very pretty to look at while we waited for the tractor to pick us up.



Then we picked out some pumpkins...



Then headed off to get our favorite treat....Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream!



Yummmm......

Thank You

Thank you to those that have commented, emailed or contacted me personally about the loss of a dear friend of my husbands and mine. I cannot express how much that truly means to us both.

We just got back late Sunday after an exhausting weekend. It was great to visit with old friends and come together to celebrate such a fantastic person and his life. It is still sinking in and I am sure in some ways it never will that he is gone, but through his friends and family, his memory will live on.

Amazingly, he even followed my blog a bit and never hesitated to promote my little biz when he got a chance. Even with all the battling he had to do with his cancer, he always made time for others. He will be sorely missed, but I also know we will see him again.

Most likely I will be taking some R&R the rest of this week, but promise to be back next week with more happy things.

Again, Thank You.

Sabotage?!

Could it be?!

There I was, in my little world just sewing away on my serger when the thread just snapped! I wondered how such a thing could happen....so I re-threaded and started up again...

Then it snapped again! I looked at the spool and found this:



This ever happened to you? I've never seen such a strange thing before! It literally looks like it was just sliced nice and neat just right there. Crazy I say!

But, it kinda represents what I feel like this week.....shredded thread. Lovely, huh? It's been a crazy busy week and, not that that's bad really, I like to keep busy. Just when the busy-ness included packing for a trip out of town. And that trip out of town is to go and say "good-bye" to a very dear friend that lost his battle with cancer and just passed away this last Saturday.

Very sad. I leave tomorrow and I cannot believe it's actually happening. It's still sinking in, but I know as soon as we arrive there and see our other friends and his family, it will become all too real.

SO, not that I have been all too active the past couple weeks, but I might be out of bloggy-ness for a bit. Maybe just a week or so, but will be back before the end of October, promise!

Have a good weekend all. Stay healthy and hug your family and friends!

A Fun Way To Do Chores!

Okay, so chores in general just aren't fun for the most part, but they might be with this Responsibility Chart! Another collaboration with the son of mine. Mainly I wanted something easy for him to be able to use or else it might just be too frustrating to bother with....and that would not be good.



So with a magnetic white board, some wooden discs (two sizes), magnets, stickers and a little clip art a fun and easy to use Responsibility Chart was made!



I wanted to keep the tasks simple and something he can easily just look at and know what task it is. This could easily be customizable for any child/family. This is what he likes to do and something simple to follow. He can mostly read those words, so it also helps a little with that.



Tada! I haven't decided if I am going to add some marker or tape to it to divide it up a bit (if that makes sense), but for now the son of mine could not wait to use it....so, I will leave it alone for now.



All those happy faces just make me all happy!

And the WINNER is......

*********Kristan!!!*********

Congrats! Congrats! Contact me with your info and I will get your Pretty Little Birds to you!


Thanks to all you fabulous people who entered.....and have no fear....another giveaway will be happening before years end!

Happy Tuesday!

Soon.....

Soon, I will do a drawing and we will have a WINNER for the Pretty Little Pair of Birds appliques!


Stay tuned......

Giveaway!!!!

So, I realized in my lack of posting time (life sure can derail at times can't it? I think I have about 10 posts I started, but never finished...), that it's been a while since I've done a giveaway! And so, in celebration of the slightly cooler temps we've had here lifting the oppression of the hottest Summer on record ( I think that's what they said anyway..it was HOT!), I am having a giveaway!

This is what the delightful prize will be:



A pretty little pair of iron on applique birds! The fabric is creamy and wonderful colors of pink, cream and chocolate swirled around in this yummy design.

So, what do you have to do? Leave me a comment on this post! If you want a double entry, leave a comment here as well as a little blurb on your blog about it (be sure to let me know you do this) and you will get entered TWO times! Fun, huh?!

You just have this week to do this and then next Monday, I will draw a winner!

Have fun and comment away!!!!!

Random Decorating

Just a bit of random decorating that happens here on occasion....

Days Of The Week

Okay, so that is really not an exciting title there, is it? Oh well, I could not think of a better one. Heck, I'm just glad to be sitting down for more than one minute to actually do a blog post! Did ya miss me? I had not planned on being MIA quite so long! However, life does happen and as always with me, family comes first. Which, in doing so, I was able to get us a little bit more organized for school days. Yippee! A little more organization in the morning can never be a bad thing, right?

I realized my son really needed a way to get ready more independently in the mornings. He's perfectly capable, just needed some additional tools to help out. I actually thought about getting one of those cubby organizer deals that hang in the closet for the days of the week to put the kiddos clothes in, but honestly did not want to spend the money on it. Also, I wanted something more at Monkey Boy's eye level that was easier for him, which was kinda the whole point of doing this anyway. SO, here is what I was up to last week...making days of the week closet hangers!




I had a couple packs of 5x7 foam sheets, so I thought they would do the trick with a total bonus being I didn't have to spend anything extra on them.



I decided to go with a "door hanger" kinda deal, but for the closet. So I took some poster board and traced a rectangle and cut out a circle for the template.



Then I traced it for each day M-F. I used two shades of green, simply because I did not have enough of just one color for the whole week.






I thought about using some blue foam for the letters, but didn't want to risk them falling off at some point. I think there is a special type of adhesive to use when gluing foam to foam, not sure, but didn't have any, so I went with the next best thing for what I had to work with.



With the poster board came some letter templates, so I grabbed a marker ( I know, very high tech around here) traced it and colored it in.



Voila!



Then I hung them on the lower bar in the closet. This way, we pick out his clothes for the week and hang them behind each letter for the day. Makes a nice way for him to just glance at the day (M-T-W-TH-F) grab his clothes and get dressed! We're on week two now of using these and so far, so good!

Now, on to making the knees of my kids jeans and pants last a little longer this year. It's still too hot here to even think about long pants, but I need to get them done before then anyway. Be back later for some show 'n' tell on that later....