Halloween Happiness

I found a pattern for these adorable bags in a quilting magazine that I picked up at Joann's. It claimed to be a 'quick and easy' pattern.





Well, the first bag took me the better part of 2 hours. Mainly because I just didn't quite get how it all worked. Bags are NOT my thing. But once I got one finished, the rest were pretty quick and easy. I have it down to about 15 minutes per bag. Which is reasonable. And so far, I've made 12 of these. The kids want to take them to their teachers. And I have a few that need to go to friends/secret sisters.

I am HOPING to dig out some halloween stamps and add tags to the bags. But right now my stamping table is surrounded by boxes of bedroom furniture. So I can't even get to it. Sigh.

A New Quilt

Sorry, my life is absolutely crazy these days.

I am working two jobs and just started back to school for my Master's Degree. I am also looking at buying a house and moving in the near future. So, to say cardmaking is the last thing on my mind right now would be pretty accurate.

I am clearing out some supplies. If you need a CTMH Eyelet Case and Eyelets or a shoebox full of prismacolor pencils...let me know and we can play a round of 'make a deal'. I also have stamp sets, single stamps, etc that are looking for new homes. Maybe I should do a posting of just stuff for sale here in the future. In the meantime, if you know you are looking for something in particular...let me know.

And on other fronts...this is what I did tonight when I SHOULD have been doing school work. :-)



I won what I thought was a 'layer cake' at the last quilting retreat. A layer cake is a package of 40 10 inch precut squares in fabrics that coordinate. Turns out my package only contained 30 squares. So my finished quilt is a little smaller (44x55) but it will still work as a lap quilt. Or I could add borders if I want it bigger. What's funny is that I now have three quilt fronts here that are finished and I've yet to have any of them quilted. Guess I should do that at some point, eh?

K, gotta run.

What I've been up to...

Just got back from a 12 day trip to Idaho. It was so nice to get away from the heat for a bit. Hard to believe that I needed a light blanket to sit outside in the evenings. It was about 5,000 ft elevation where I was most of the time. The second day we took the kids and the dogs and went to this lake. It was gorgeous. The water was a wee bit cold but the kids still went in and played.



Then we helped with a petting zoo for my cousin's scout troop and my oldest son rode on the scout float in the 4th of July parade. My youngest stayed with me and collected candy. I have NEVER seen a parade where they threw out that much candy. I bet my purse weighed 20 pounds (not kidding) AND he got a t-shirt that someone threw.

We spent one day at a hot spring where the kids (once again) got to swim. I was expecting something more like a rock hole with warm water flowing into it...but this was actually like a swimming pool. It just pulled it's water from a hot spring.

Then we went camping at about 7,000 ft elevation. Brrr. Only bad thing was the stupid mosquitos that were everywhere. I swear they were as big as flies! We were planning on staying for two nights but cut it short because they were SO bad.



Then the last two days I stayed with another cousin in Boise (a little warmer there) and we went to a couple quilt shops which was fun.

All in all I got to visit with 4 first cousins and their spouses, 3 first cousins once removed (and their spouses) and all the assorted children and animals that went along with them.

This is my favorite picture from the trip...because it was totally unscripted. I love it when they play nice with each other!



Now I'm back into the thick of things getting oldest DS ready for middle school, my youngest's birthday is this week, and I have to have everything ready for my MBA application by the 19th. All while working two jobs. Yikes! ;-P

Table Topper is Quilted

I still need to do the binding...but my table topper has been basted and quilted. I'm pretty happy with how it's coming along. It's certainly not perfect but once it's on a table and a centerpiece or something is sitting on it...I don't think you'll notice the mistakes. :-)

Which fabric?

I've finished my table runner. Of course once it's sewn together you notice all the things you missed. But I am NOT ripping out my stitches and starting over. I did my best not to get any two colors next to each other/etc and yet once it's sewn together I find at least 3 places so far where like colors are next to each other. Argh! ;-P

Now I am trying to decide on a backing fabric. Here is part of the table runner, layed on top of the two fabrics with a little of the binding fabric showing at the top of the runner so you can take that into account as well.



Thoughts/opinions? The one on the left is less busy and has dark and light browns in in. The one on the right has different browns/reds but is busy and is very 'fall leafy' and most of the fabrics on the runner are floral with leaves that aren't similar.

Ruff Day?

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you have a fun 3 day weekend planned. Nothing exciting here. I need to do a little work at some point. And I have a bookclub to attend on Sunday. But nothing exciting.

Anyways, thought I'd share the other card I made last weekend. This one is pretty simple. Uses a kraft card base.

A card and a kitten

This weekend I got around to making two cards. The first one is ok. The second one I really liked. So I'm going to share the second one for today.



I received the image in a swap as well as the red embossed paper. So I used that as my starting point and went from there. I like how it turned out.

On other fronts...we've added a new kitten to the household. Meet Tigger...



I've started working a part time temporary job on top of my full time job and having the kids home for the summer (and I work both jobs from home). So I suspect I'll only be doing a few cards for the next few months. But maybe I'll surprise myself and start making even MORE cards. Who knows.

Pictures

Well, nothing has changed...but not my computer recognizes the camera's USB port. So I guess that means I will share pictures. LOL.

First off...this is my quilt top after this past weekend's quilting retreat. I'm not sure if it's done or not. I was going to add a border because the sides are still just a little shy of completly covering the boxspring and going down to where the wood is. And in this bed the boxspring sits all the way down to the bottom of the sidebar piece of wood. But this isn't the bed it's going to 'live on' longterm. So I may wait and audition it on the new bed once I get it and then decide about the border.



And next up is a better picture of the long nose snake I caught with my son's assistance. He was released back outside yesterday.



Today is the last day of school here. Yikes! I'm dreading the summer...and the kids are looking forward to it. I give them about 3 days before they are totally bickering amongst themselves. Too much of each other is not a good thing. LOL.

Misc Ramblings

First off, I wanted to share something I saw hanging on a bulletin board. My guess is that it's from a book but I couldn't tell you exactly where it came from. I just know I liked it and wanted to share it. LOL.

We waste so much energy trying to cover up who we are,
when beneath every attitude is the want to be loved
and beneath every anger is a wound to be healed,
and beneath every sadness is the fear that there
will not be enough time.
When we hesitate in being direct,
we unknowingly slip something on, some
added layer of protection that keeps us from feeling the world,
and often that thin covering is the beginning of a loneliness which,
if not put down, diminishes our chances for joy.
It's like wearing gloves every time we touch something, and then,
forgetting we chose to put them on, we complain
that nothing feels quite real. In this way,
our challenge each day is not to get dressed to face
the world, but to unglove ourselves
so that the doorknob feels cold, and
the car handle feels wet, and the kiss good-bye feels like the lips of
another being, soft and unrepeatable.
-- Author Unknown

I still have a 'poem' from Jr. High days that talks about the masks we wear and when I saw this hanging on the bulletin board it made me think of the masks one.

Last night I was talking to a friend and they told me that in their lifetime I was one of the few people they've ever met who was true. That I didn't initiate drama, I didn't talk about other people and stir the pot amongst people, I kept any secrets told to me, I didn't backstab my friends, etc. I told her I try my best to be true.

And I was going to share new pics of the snake and the quilt...but my camera's USB port isn't being recognized for some reason. So I guess no pictures today. Sorry about that!

Coolest Mom EVER Award

Today I got awarded the Coolest Mom Ever award by my youngest son. Why? Well, let me tell you...

I heard Chewey (our youngest dog) barking like crazy outside. He was UNDER the porch. My first thought was probably a scorpion (I'd heard that bark before with a scorpion). So I ask my son to see if he can look under there and see what the dog is barking at. Well, it's not a scorpion...but it's a snake. Great. I can't leave the snake there because of the dogs. I can't let my son get it (which he wants to) because I don't know what kind of snake it is. From a distance it looks like it's brown/black in color and could potentially be a rattler.

So I get the garbage can and the broom and I lay on my tummy and shimmy my fat butt under the porch. That in itself was not an easy feat! Military crawl through dirt/rocks under me and spider webs (probably black widows) above me. Thank goodness noone was videotaping that. LOL.

I get under there and then I could tell he wasn't a rattlesnake. He was red/black in color. I thought he was a king snake at the time but my brother informed me later that he is a long nose snake. He is curled way in the furthest corner under the bottom step. It took a bit of gentle handling him with the handle of the broom to get him moving (at first he coiled up to strike at it). Then he's moving towards me and I'm wondering how quickly I could shimmy out of there if it became necessary!

Luckily he went against the wall and I was able to shove the garbage can against the wall and he climbed into it. Then I handed the garbage can out to my youngest son.



Well, then, he wants to keep the snake to show to Dad. So we had to transfer the lizard that is in our smaller cage to an ice cream pail and then transfer the snake into the smaller cage. Where he is now contently buried in the wood chips.

I think DAD gets the chore of turning the snake loose! LOL.

Bad Day?

I made this card for a friend of mine who wasn't feeling well last week. I hope it cheers them up!



All stamps are from Clear Dollar Stamps.

Enjoy!

Quilting Update

Ok...a few days ago I posted a picture of how my disappearing 9 patch is coming along and asked if I should add more rows. The answer was a resounding "YES". So I went back to Hancock's Fabrics yesterday to get more fabric. There are a total of four fabrics in the quilt. Well, they are out of the yellow fabric and it's discontinued. Now what is a girl to do? I bought a yard of each of the other three. If all else fails I will make 9 patches out of the two fabrics that I have both of (so they match what is in the quilt) and make those as a 'border' (so to speak). That way it looks like I intended on it! LOL.

I am also headed out to a quilting retreat this next weekend. It's one I haven't been to before but I've heard it's a blast. So I'm looking forward to it. Will try and get my fabrics cut before I go so all I have to do there is sew it all together. With any luck by next week I'll have a quilt top to show you! I'll be paying someone to actually quilt this one though. NO WAY am I doing it!

Mojo is BACK!

I am super happy with the two cards I made yesterday. I feel like I am out of my creative slump that I've been in. Yay!

Here's the first card I'm going to share...I'll save the other one for later in the week.



I used one of the recent sketches from Splitcoaststampers weekly sketch challenge. The image is a House Mouse image that I got in a swap. I don't own it but isn't it adorable?

Then today we went to the school's 'carnival'. They had inflatable rides - all you want to ride - for $2.00 per person. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the day.

The RACE is on:


King of the hill:


I Barely Survived:


The carnival lasted for four hours...but within two hours they wanted to come home. It was hot so I'm glad we went early. Even then it was too hot by noon.

Have a great weekend!

Input/Opinions?

I am getting SO close to having my disappearing 9 patch quilt done! I have enough squares to do one more row down the side of the quilt (where you see blue sheet now). But the other side is just as short so I'll need at least another row down that side. Figuring I will lose some of the 'girth' in all the seams still to come...do you think I need to do another row or two both directions? Or should I add a border to size it? Should it cover both the mattress and the boxspring?



Here's a closer view of just the quilt:



Also, keep in mind...eventually it will be on this bed (if that affects how many rows you think I will be needing and/or if I should add a border). Since it has a head/footboard I probably don't need to add a lot more length.

Failure Doesn't Exist Without You

I have a t-shirt that says "Sarcasm, Just One More Service I Provide". Everyone has their way of coping with things. For me, it's often dark humor. So...when I saw this offbeat stamp...I HAD to buy it. Of course, if you like the person you are sending this card to...you'd need to make sure they'd appreciate the humor. If you don't like the person you are sending it to...then send away! LOL.



I am happy to report that yesterday I was able to do 50 minutes of cardio...20 of which was on the elliptical. When I started 5 minutes was about all I could do on the elliptical. I think I've lost around 20 pounds now. Every scale reads differently...so can't really tell. I am finally able to tell a difference in the way my clothes fit. Yay!

Girly Card

Once in awhile I do a girly card. Pinks are not generally my thing. But I was inspired by my stamp and my scrap of paper and just took it from there.

I found the sketch over at Our Craft Lounge.



Next I found a stamp that would work for the sketch (the doggie). Then I went to my scraps bag and started searching for papers to coordinate. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.



The finished size of the card is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4.

I have one more to share later this week. Hope everyone has a great Sunday.

Rockin' Monster

This is the final card I made over the weekend. I'm not sure how I feel about it. The monster stamps have kind of 'fuzzy' lines (so the monsters have hair) but I'm not loving the way it looks. It makes my coloring look sloppy.



I tried something a little different on this card. The image is actually stamped many times in order to allow the tail to flow off the main panel and onto the the other panel. Then I stamped the tail itself again...colored it and adhered it with a pop dot.

I'll try to get more stamping done sometime soon. So keep checking back.

Smile Monster

This is a virgin monster! Did you know they still existed? The poor stamp had never lied down with an ink pad. I figured it was fine time for that to happen. LOL. So, now that he's not a virgin anymore...he's a smile monster.



I don't know if you can tell it or not, but the eye is stamped a second time and then I popped it up with dimensionals. I got the set of monsters at Joann's. I can't remember who makes them. I want to say it's Impression Obsessions or something like that? The greeting is from Hero Arts.

I think I'll hang on to you!

I have a lot to share this week. I went on a bit of a cardmaking spree. And I have some other pics to share as well.

So first of all, let me share a card to get the ball rolling...



On the inside of the card it says: "I think I'll hold on to you".

This is a Stampendous Changito stamp...I think it came out around Father's Day time. I don't own it, but was lucky enough to have someone send me some images. It's SO cute! I colored it in using prismacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I love how the jeans look worn. To do that I only put color around the edges and blended towards the middle leaving the middle lighter. Here's a close up of the image.



On the personal front...I thought I'd show you what my Friday night was like. Take two boys, add a friend, two bedrooms across from each other, and MANY blankets/towels/etc later and this is what you get.

See the "firetruck"? It is the bridge between the two bedrooms. They can enter the 'fort' from either bedroom. The second bedroom has most of the fort in it.



And here you can see just a TINY bit of the corner of the firetruck and then the rest of the fort in the second bedroom:



It seems every weekend (and many weeknights) I end up with at least 1 if not 2 extra kids. Most the time I don't mind. But lately, I swear they are eating me out of house and home. Don't other people feed their kids? Or is it just that my food tastes so much better? The neighbor girl was telling my youngest son how lucky they were because I buy good food and I don't make them clean the house. I keep telling my kids they are spoiled but they don't believe me (of course).

Today I am off to the pet store to get baby crickets for the lizards the kids caught. Super mom to the rescue! LOL.

Turtle Thanks!

A friend of mine gave me some little turtle earrings. So, I decided she needed to have a turtle thank you card! :-) I have at least 3 turtle stamps but I liked this one best for this particular card.



What do you think? I loved the bright colors and the fun image.

Retail Therapy

What does one do when they have excess cash from their tax refund? They enter into an agreement to do some RETAIL therapy! LOL.

I went and got new bathroom stuff (curtain and towels) for my bathroom. I like the blues/browns.



Very peaceful. Don't you think?

Now I wish I could convince the boys to use THEIR bathroom so I could have mine all to myself. But they like my bigger tub so I guess I am destined to share my bubblebath with 8 plastic hippos looking on. LOL.

Wrong Baby

If you know me at all...you know I love country music. For the most part, I enjoy both the musicality and the lyrics. I grew up on the old stuff...Johnny Cash, etc. Once in a while a song comes along that speaks to me. The lyrics in particular. At different points in my life I've had a 'song' that went with that part of my life.

I recently heard this song (Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong) by Martina McBride. It spoke to me. It is probaby written more for the one who has been left in a relationship (not for the initiator) but when a relationship comes to an end both people go through the same grief emotions. And that is what this is about...feeling the hurt but moving on to better things.

Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong
Martina McBride

Wrong baby wrong baby wrong
It ain’t the end of the world
Don’t you worry pretty girl
Cause now that he’s gone baby gone baby gone
You got nothing to lose
Count the minutes if you want to
It won’t be long baby long baby long
‘Til you find somebody new

Come on now
Everyone falls down
Everyone crawls now and then
Then they get up again
You cry if you want to
That’s what we all do
But if you think you’ll never move on you’re wrong baby

Cry baby cry baby cry
Go on and let it all out
I ain’t leavin’ you now
And we can fly baby fly baby fly
Let’s share a bottle of wine
We can laugh about the good times
And you’ll know why baby why baby why
It’s gonna be alright

Come on now
Everyone falls down
Everyone crawls now and then
Then they get up again
You cry if you want to
That’s what we all do
But if you think you’ll never move on you’re wrong baby wrong

Oh you ain’t gone
baby wrong baby wrong
There’s nothing wrong with movin on
When you know he’s good and gone

Come on now
Everyone falls down
Everyone crawls now and then
Then they get up again
You cry if you want to
That’s what we all do

Come on now
Everyone falls down
Everyone crawls now and then
Then they get up again
You cry if you want to
That’s what we all do
But if you think you’ll never move on you’re wrong baby wrong
You’re wrong baby wrong
Wrong baby wrong baby wrong

How's Everything At Your End?

Yesterday I'd taken my oldest son to 'How to Train Your Dragon' and we stopped at GameStop afterwards and got both boys a new game. So when we got home they were both occupied and I used some of the time to make a couple cards. This one is based off last week's sketch challenge over on Splitcoaststampers.



I turned the sketch sideways...but other than that it's pretty true to form. What do you think?



The image is from Clear Dollar Stamps. The horse's name is 'Charlie'. If I remember right I think it was about $5 for the horse and the saying. I used prismacolor pencils (light umber and dark umber) to color Charlie. I left the mane area white because I liked the way it popped.

I also made a second card that is a thank you card for a friend but I'll post that another day. Thanks for hanging in with me while I'm not posting on a regular basis. :-)

Whoo Hooo!

I am going to toot my own horn here. About 3 months ago I went to the doctor. She had tested my vitamin D levels and said I was deficient and to start taking a supplement. She also suggested I try to lose some weight (no big surprise at that suggestion! LOL!)

With everything going on in my personal life I didn't have the energy to try and do the full 'weight loss mode' thing. But I did decide to try and eat healthier. Cutting out most sweets and most soda (limiting it to my morning caffeine). I've also started walking and joined a gym.

So, yesterday was my follow up appointment. According to my home scale I'd lost 10 pounds. So I was happy when their scale actually said 16 pounds. She retested the vitamin D levels and they've dropped even further. So now she has me on a prescribed dose to try and get it up in the normal range. One of the effects of vitamin D deficiency is lack of energy and signs of depression. So hopefully once we get the levels up maybe I'll have more energy to go work out at the gym and lose more weight! :-)

Get Well Bunny

I was inspired by a card on Jan's blog. She used this sketch from OWH Stars and Stamps blog.



I opted to use one of my new $1 stamps that hadn't seen ink yet. It is supposed to be for Easter but I also thought it'd make a cute get well card. A friend's daughter tore her knee up and will need surgery. I thought she could use a card to help cheer her up.



Think it'll work?

Apology and Guess What I Got???

First off, an apology. I'm sorry I'm not posting much in the way of creative stuff lately. I am going through some personal stuff that seems to have sucked all my mojo out.

Secondly, I am SO excited about my new find! I have wanted a cherry wood sleigh bedroom set forever. I have never owned a NEW bedroom set. So I started watching for a used sleigh bedroom set that I could afford. It took about six months but I found the set of my dreams in the town where my brother lives. And not only is it a cherry wood sleigh set, but it is a NEW cherry wood sleigh set. The grandfather bought it for the granddaughter and when it was delivered she didn't like the dark wood. So they sold it for about half the price of new but it's still in the boxes!

My brother picked it up for me and it's stored in his garage right now until we can manage the delivery (he lives a couple hours away).

Isn't it pretty????









There is also a mirror that goes with the shorter dresser. The only thing I wish it had that it doesn't...is a second nightstand. But I can live with that. :-)

I Pray For You

Heard this song on the radio yesterday and it cracked me up. If I could figure out how to insert the youtube video here I would (any readers want to help me?). Otherwise, go check out the link. The song is called "I Pray For You".

Enjoy!

Massive Characters

I heard this quote on Criminal Minds yesterday and it is so true.

"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls. The most massive characters are seared with scars." Khalil Gibran

I have had both the torment and the blessing of losing two children. Torment because I lost them and it tore my heart apart...but blessing because in the process I met many other parents who have lost children and each of them are 'massive characters' and I am lucky to know them. I believe that I have also become a better/stronger/more compassionate person because of their deaths.

I do not believe 'everything happens for a reason' but I do believe we can use a bad experience to learn and grow.

Watch Out!

I grew up with a Dad who was a WWII Ranger and three older brothers. I remember going out target practicing from the time I was probably 7 or 8. When I moved out on my own I got a firearm for protection. When I had kids I put the firearm away (locked up) and just didn't use it at all. So it's been at least 12 years since I've shot anything. So...today I decided it was time to take it out to the range. I had to have them go over how to load/shoot it again (it's been THAT long). They set me up and left me to practice.



When I finished the guy told me he couldn't believe it'd been 12 years since I'd shot. According to him it is a 'perishable' skill and you need to practice every so often to stay accurate. But of all the shots I fired...only a few fell outside the black circle and I got quite a few in the bullseye. Not bad for a short barreled revolver which isn't known for it's accuracy. He originally set the distance for me and I shot some at that distance (got one of the ones outside the black circle at the shorter distance) and then I moved the target further out and shot some at a longer distance and that's where I got the other few. I think there were either 3 or 4 total outside the black.

I've been wanting to do this for a few months but didn't have anyone to go to the range with and I hate going anywhere by myself for the first time. Plus I knew I was going to have to ask for help. I'm a total chicken when it comes to doing new things by myself. So I'm more proud of myself for just DOING it than the actual skill - but it's all good! :-)

Have you seen 'Yes Man' with Jim Carrey? It goes a little overboard (doesn't all of Jim Carrey's movies?) but I do like the premise. Say YES to life and all of it's opportunities.

Hopefully next week I'll get back to some crafting. Kids have been on spring break all week. Sorry!

Things to Do Before I Die

Ended up making chicken nuggets and tator tots for dinner. But not store bought nuggets (does that at least get me some brownie points?) It was either that or I could have made homemade pizza...but since we had pizza a couple nights ago I didn't want to do that again. Everything else I seemed to be missing at least one ingredient on OR I didn't have enough for everyone (the boys have a friend spending the night again). So nuggets and tator tots it became (and even then I didn't eat any because it was only enough for them). Gotta go grocery shopping tomorrow!

In the meantime...I started to make a list of things I want to do before I die. I actually started a scrapbook at some point with this general idea but I don't even know where it ended up. And I have accomplished a few things from the original scrapbook (ie...seeing a panda bear, learning to sew). But these are new. Enjoy!


Things To Do Before I Die:

Visit all of the states
Visit New Zealand or Austrailia
Lose weight and become healthier
Participate on a softball team again
Complete a full marathon (have already done a half)
Have 'artistic photo' taken (ie nekkid but tasteful)
Pay for a meal for an elderly person
Spend a day on the beach
Write a book
Build a savings cushion
Pay off all outstanding debt
Buy a house of my own
Put overdraft on checking account (done)
Start a savings account for kids' education
Learn to country dance
Learn to jitterbug
Take a cooking class
Make fortune cookies
Bake a perfect cheesecake
Fry perfect chicken
Learn to pitch a tent and camp
Get my MBA degree
Take belly dancing class
Take a cruise
Ride on a train (Durango?)
Try skiing again
Learn to snorkel
Take a hot air balloon ride
Make a donation quilt for someone in need
Become a regular volunteer
Learn to play guitar and/or piano
Learn to crochet
Grow roses (without killing them!)
Write a will
Prepay/plan funeral
Take a spontaneous road trip
Learn to say 'yes' (learn to not be afraid of trying new things)
Learn to say 'no' (learn it's ok to set boundries)
Become my own best friend
Go to a movie by myself
Learn to have positive self talk
Put change into someone else's meter when it's close to running out
Pay for the person behind me in the drive thru
Adopt a family for the holidays
Learn to ride a motorcycle (streetbike not a dirtbike)
See a psychic for a reading
Go on a first date post divorce
Establish an extended family of friends
Make enough of a difference to know I'll be missed
Get my CCW permit
Live in a real house (not a modular home)
Own new bedroom set/living room furniture (always buy used)
Own a car with less than 10,000 miles on it

Ok...I guess I'm back to decluttering and reading my new book. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Bleh...

I don't know what to do with myself today. I know what I SHOULD do (ie...fold laundry, vacuum, declutter, etc, etc) but I don't feel like doing that. I actually FEEL like cooking/baking but the fridge/freezer/pantry is starting to look a little barren. In particular there are no eggs or oil at all. So baking is definately out. I wanted to make some homemade bread or rolls...but those also require eggs. Tomorrow is grocery shopping day. Tonight I'll just have to make do with what I have and deal with the boredom.

My First Easel Card

After seeing a bunch of these cards I decided I HAD to make one. I'm happy with how it turned out for the most part. I'm just not sure I like that you lose half the inside of the card (where the easel goes)...so there isn't much room to write. Other than that - it's a cute idea.



Here is the side view:



You can see why it's called an Easel Card more from this view. The brads on the inside hold the card front up for display. Also, you can tell from this view that I stamped his claws twice and popped them up with dimensional adhesive.

Enjoy.

Schlep Bag

I spent this weekend at a quilting retreat in Sierra Vista, Arizona. It was nice and cool. Pine trees all around. A very nice change of pace. I took two projects with me to work on - a denim rag quilt and my disappearing nine patch. I got a bit of work done on both projects. I wasn't feeling overly motivated. Just wanted to slow down and enjoy the weekend. A couple of the ladies there had taken a class on making a 'schlep' bag.

According to Dictionary.com:
schlep 
–verb (used with object)
1.to carry; lug: to schlep an umbrella on a sunny day.
–verb (used without object)
2.to move slowly, awkwardly, or tediously: We schlepped from store to store all day.
–noun
3.Also, schlepper. someone or something that is tedious, slow, or awkward; drag.

The bag is reversible and is made out of a total of 8 different fabrics...4 squares of each fabric. You can make the bag any size you wanted. I used 6 1/2 inch squares on mine. But saw bags ranging from 5 inch squares (more the size of a purse) to 8 inch squares (more the size of a beach bag). There were three of us that decided to try and make the bag during the retreat and each bag came out beautiful.

Here is my bag (both sides):





So...what do you think?

Paper Pieced Chickie

I have been wanting to learn to paper piece with the quilting but have been too 'chick'en to try it on my own. But today I was beyond bored. So I went on youtube and found some tutorials. Then I found a free pattern online for this cute chick. And next...well, I just decided to go with it. The worst case scenerio is I'd waste a few scraps of fabric, right? Here's my final result:



I did make a few boo-boos. But for a first time experience I'm thrilled with it. For the real thing you are supposed to embroider the eye and the legs...I settled for a Sharpie marker. :-)

Weekend Trip

I spent this past weekend in Strawberry, Arizona with family and friends. It was a great time. This is the 'cabin' we stayed in. I say 'cabin' because it was really a modular home with cabin siding. I was disappointed that it wasn't a true log cabin. But the patio and view were amazing. There was a little babbling brook right underneath the patio too.



On Saturday we went into a town called 'Pine' just a few miles down the road. There we found a quilt shop and visited some antique shops. The quilt shop was housed in an OLD log cabin. Very friendly people. Very cute shop. Of course I had to buy fabric!



On Sunday we did the 'tourist' thing on the way out of town. We stopped and saw what claims to be the oldest standing school in Arizona.



And then we stopped at a National Park. We had to go DOWN into this canyon to get to the park and by the time we reached bottom my brakes were literally SMOKING. Yikes! We pull in and it's a self pay station. It's $4.00 each and we have eight ones or a twenty. So we put eight ones in and call it good. Wouldn't you know they actually tracked us down for our $4 while we were there? It probably cost him $4 to drive down and find us! He had change for the $20 and we had no problem paying to get in. So we got caught and paid. :-)

The first thing we saw were a herd of javelina. They crossed the parking lot right in front of us. There was one baby and a teenager and then a few adults. This is one of the adults.



Next we walked DOWN what felt like a zillion uneven steps (some 6 inches deep some probably closer to 2 feet) to get to a little waterfall area. My knees were shaking by the time I made it down. By the time I made it back up I had decided it was a good thing I have life insurance! LOL.



Lastly we walked around a couple trails until we found what we'd really come looking for...the natural rock bridge.



It was a great weekend. But I am glad to be back home with my boys. And I slept like a baby in my own bed last night. Always good to be home.