Check blog posting for my new blog

I will no longer post here - I have a new blog!!

2009-12-21T21:52:00.000-08:00

You see the title of this blog is Cajun Hillbilly Housewife, but the blog address still bears the name I had when I started my blogging career - "Momma's Goodies".. I haven't been Momma's Goodies for a long while now.. and it kinda bugs me that my name doesn't match the address.. and it looks funny on my business cards too.. Not to mention I want the full use of the 3 columns I have.. I want to reorganize and I figure it will be easier to start from scratch. So all the problems mentioned are solved by creating a new blog. From now on you can find me at: http://cajunhillbilly.blogspot.com

A new year with new blog.. it has the feeling of a clean slate, a fresh start, a renewal. So I will no longer be blogging here. I will leave this blog up in case you want to refer to older posts and I will be disabling comments. You will have to leave comments on my new blog!

Again - if you want to see my blog you can find me at: http://cajunhillbilly.blogspot.com

Has it been that long?

2009-12-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged since before Thanksgiving.. but then again.. it's usually a whirlwind around here between the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have school - and we do a lot more artsy projects during this time that require more of me.. and the kids and I make Christmas gifts.. then you have shopping to do... cleaning up for company.. decorating..visiting with family...and I do try to get SOME sleep :-) I hope to get back to blogging more often once the new year starts over again.

I would like to start having some giveaways and clear out some of the seldom used art supplies I have. I already kicked it off by giving all my plastic canvas supplies to a friend of mine who wants to start a family craft night at home.. I can't wait to see what they do with it.. It's really difficult for me to part with any of my craft supplies because of that lingering thought in my mind "what IF I decide to make something like that..." well.. that has managed to clutter my dining room/craft space - and take up my daughter's entire closet (she now shares with her brothers).. I CAN do a plethora of crafts - but that doesn't mean I need to keep the supplies for all of it. I would like to pare down to 4 craft mediums and the rest must go..

Anyway - we have been decorating, crafting and such - so I thought I would share a slideshow here of what we have done - rather than post a million pics.. watch at your leisure:

I decided the other day to do some painting. I haven't done it in a while, but I knew I had lots of bisque and resin Christmas figures that were unpainted. I had gotten them a few years ago at after-Christmas sales for next to nothing. A couple of them only got partially done - and haven't been touched for a couple years.. so I started by finishing those up. It was a lot of fun. I sat up my station where I could see the tv and painted all during the week. I finally decided to put it away so I could finish up a few Christmas presents in another medium. Here's what I painted:

This next one didn't turn out so well.. I didn't have the exact same blue that I used 3 yrs ago.. so the man's robe is 2 different shades.. oh well.. gives it character I say :-)

This has been added to my snowman collection:

The kids made some craft stick ornaments too. Here are their ornaments - and the kids making them:

Eli has been bitten by the portrait bug. Both of the boys have really grown in their motor skills and are now starting to also write their own names. Here are some portraits done by Eli:

This is my portrait with Eli holding it:

This is my husband Marcus (make note of his mustache):

This one is my mom:

Let me also take this moment to brag on both my boys. They are learning to use the computer. I found some old preschool computer games of Jas' - so I thought I would see if they could figure out to to play them. Naturally - they were quite proficient at it - as most kids are. Here they are playing their favorite game. It's so cute to see them operate the mouse:

For those of you who think it never snows in Louisiana.. check this out - this is our second yr in a row with a day of snow (although it didn't make it a full 24 hours):

The hubby has been working for 2 months straight. They had a turnaround at the refinery and needed all the help they could get. We missed him, and he was worn out, but the funds were much needed. He was so tired that many nights he came home, ate, and went straight to bed. So it was so nice to see him enjoy a good old fashioned pillow fight/wrestling/tickling match with the kids. They really enjoyed it. They haven't done it in a while. And they managed to have my whole room in disarray. Here's some action shots:

I managed to have a birthday since I blogged last too... my 36th.. I got lots of warm, well-wishes from friends and family which was my favorite part really. My hubby took me to dinner at a nice steak place.. and I enjoyed the day with my kids. My hubby got me this great painting set - since I want to learn to paint in the traditional sense. Now I need to find a good instruction book or video - or perhaps someone I know to teach me. Here is what he got me:

My mom and I LOVE Iman's purses she sells on HSN.. so she got me one for my bday. It's her "Time to Shine" line of purses from her Global Chic collection.. It is my new favorite and is already in use. It is chocolate brown patent leather and has a gold chain strap (my fav detail). When you use the long strap the top half folds over into a more compact version of the purse:

I got some other great gifts that I didnt manage to photograph but I loved them all. I felt very special.

I have got a jumpstart on my new years resolution to exercise more - I started doing yoga. Of all the forms of exercise I have ever done - this is one of my favorites. It gives you so much more of a real workout than you would imagine. I already had a yoga dvd by Leslie Sansone that I liked, but I wanted another one to keep from getting bored. I found this one that I really like - and it's so cool.

I can customize my workout and have the different workouts on the video play in the order I pick them. I did it today and boy did I sweat!! I really want to stay consistent with my exercise so I can make some real progress in my health.

Well it's unlikely (but possible) that I will blog again before the new year. So if I don't talk to you sooner, may you ALL have a very merry Christmas and a blessed new year!!!

Much love and God bless!!

Guess who got a snuggy!!

2009-11-21T16:45:00.000-08:00

Yep.. you guessed it.. the resident pretty princess!! It finally came in the mail - and just in time.. we had a cold front come in (along with a ton of rain).. and this chilly pooch does not like the cold.. She kinda makes me want one :-) I thought it was the perfect time to give her a bath and wash her bedding, so she could snuggle down in her new pink snuggy. She seems to like it. And when I wash her bed and remade it for her - she was ready for a nap.

This week I headed to Hobby Lobby to see if they had marked down their fall/thanksgiving decor.. and indeed they had - down to 80% off (that's my kind of sale) and clearly the economy has people bargain hunting because there was hardly anything left.. this time last year - there was still a wall full of stuff at 80% off. I did manage to walk away with about $20 worth of stuff.. here's what I got:

During that same trip I got this yummy Christmas fabric for my doll for the Christoween swap.

I also plan on making Thanksgiving cookers (what my boys call aprons) - for the kids since they will likely help me cook. Here's what will soon be "cookers":

On the creative front - I have been totally into my hand stitching.. I have been working on felt turkey broaches for all the ladies eating at my house for Thanksgiving. It's a Wee Folk Art applique pattern that I turned into a broach:

I've also been in a stitching mood... so I have been getting patterns transferred onto fabric, crayon tinted, and backed with fusable interfacing. I swear the process of tracing the pattern, transferring, coloring in is just as much fun as the stitching part.. and you will see that I did a few of them.. eventhough I already have a few to stitch in my travel case.. no matter - they will all get done eventually :-) Here's what I did:

This is from a Mochi Studio pattern:

This is the one I finished yesterday - also from a Mochi Studio pattern. I found the character for "love" online and I added it in red:

This one was from a Sugar Nellie Stamp (picture quality was bad on this one):

Not sure where I found this one online - but it was perfect for a friend of mine:

I wanted to show you some porcelin kitties I have been having since I was a teenager. When I lived with my mom in Pennsylvania we regularly went antiquing. This particular shop had these kitties.. not sure if these are an actual antique - but I liked them. I had them in a drawer in plastic and just rediscovered them and decided they should be displayed:

Also, this is an adorable sewing machine teapot I picked up recently for $1 at a monthly outdoor flea market we have here in town:

I plan on getting my house ship shape tomorrow so we can spend the week doing fun Thanksgiving themed activities.. We are having my husband's parents, and my mom over for Thanksgiving dinner. We are going the untraditional route - Pork roast, corn bread dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and yeast rolls. Jas and I are baking cookies and pumpkin bread. We ordered a couple sweet potato pies from a local lady that does them with sweet dough - yum!! I am hoping we can put together something special to give the grandparents when they come over.. I doubt I will blog again before the holiday and I can PROMISE you I will NOT be shopping on black Friday!! I will be snuggled down in my cozy house, with my family, enjoying the holiday.. and I hope you will too..

I will leave you with this picture my son requested I take of him in his "glasses" .. I think he looks like Clark Kent:

Have a safe and happy holiday!!! Much love and God bless!!!

Scraps!! Gotta love 'em!!

2009-11-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

I know I do.. I certainly hoard plenty of them. I got these great small squares a long, long time ago - not quite sure what I would do with them since I don't do quilting in the traditional sense (mainly I crazy quilt).. I also have gallon bags of various scraps of cotton and fancy material I use for crazy quilting too.. so I pulled out my scraps determined to do something with them.. and this is what I came up with - this new scarf for my furbaby:

And I also created these bookmarks (with a button at the top to keep the mark from sliding down in the book). If you get a Christmas card from me, and you like to read - it will probably have one of these in it:

You would be surprised how long those bookmarks took. It's very time consuming sewing those little squares together. I ended up with 10 of the bookmarks. I plan on making a few more (with a little embroidery perhaps) for my mom, MIL, and a couple unnamed ppl who read my blog :-)

I am now going to shock the pants off you!! I have done a little cross stitch!! Ok I will wait while you put your pants back on :-) I didn't get a ton of it done, but I got a start on the second Fallen Soldier memorial I making for 1 family:

I had a real marathon of a crafting day one day this week.. working all day and into the night...I had a stack of stitched pieced that needed to be "finished". So I set to work getting them done.. I finished two of the pieces into pillows that are now waiting on stuffing:

I finished one into a bag. I had a bunch of leftover jean "legs" after making lots of purses out of the tops. So I cut them into pieces and this is what I came out with:

One last thing I worked on was a quilt for my new nephew.. I did ties at the seams.. the back is a soft, fluffy terry cloth. It's not perfect, but it's warm and cuddly and I hope my SIL likes it (still have a couple of matching bibs to make this weekend to send along with it):

I am about 3/4 of the way done with Joy Luck Club

I am really surprised with how good this book is.. well perhaps I should say how good it is to me.. it's not my typical genre of books.. as I think I told you already. But I was determined to at least try it out. It basically chronicles certain parts of the lives of 4 sets of moms and daughters.. it is so true how we rally against the idea of becoming our moms, yet trying to always gain their approval.. we dont appreciate them the way we should when we are young, and yet need them so desperately. I don't think there is any relationship as important and as complicated as a mom and a daughter. I try to value my own mother as I should, I love her dearly. And at the same time, there are times I need her to see me as the adult, mom, and wife I am - not the child she remembers. I see myself trying to save my daughter from my own missteps, while not stepping on her toes at the same time. And so it goes... I have lots of other books on my list to read, and I am not sure what I will read next. I will be sure to post whatever it ends up being :-)

Let me share some stash that's on it's way to me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sublime Stitching patterns. Jenny Hart is a real genius when it comes to unique stitching patterns. I ordered the newest book and it's on it's away - along with another great stitchery pattern book:

Lastly, my friend Susan had me thinking about thinning out some of my craft stash.. some of you well-meaning friends of mine tell me not to get rid of it all.. and then I decide to stash the closets full.. but I have soooooo much stuff I have hoarded that I am running out of room, and that gets forgotten about. So is it really serving a purpose? I would like to do something similar to Susan - narrow my hobbies down a bit. I mean, I have done just about everything.. but it's not necessary to keep the supplies for it all if it's unlikely I will do it more than every few years or so? So be on the lookout for some future giveaways!!

Until next time, much love and God bless!

Giveaway shout out for a Target giftcard!!

2009-11-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

I found this giveaway thru a shout out my friend Awtem had on her blog..it's for a $25 gift card for Target.. you just have to go to this blog: http://oodlekadoodleprimitives.blogspot.com/ and follow the rules to get your name in the drawing.. who couldn't use a free giftcard? Im sure I could find SOMETHING I wanted from there :-) Dont wait too long - sign ups end November 29th!!

Did you think I was finished??

2009-11-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

Oh not by a long shot.. I still had some thanksgiving decor that I knew my house needed.. especially since I am cooking and will have my mom (and perhaps my hubby's parents) over for thanksgiving dinner. I also just love the fall/pumpkin decor and enjoy being surrounded by it. So here is a little more festive decorations I bought and made:

I love this glittery garland:

I also bought these cardboard decorations full of pumpkins and fall goodness:

I bought these towels and appliqued the pumpkins on them:

I got 3 bunches of indian corn (each having 3 ears in the bunch) for a penny a bunch at Walmart.. I ended up with one at the back door and rest in various places in the house:

I got this great table cloth on clearance at walmart for $3:

I also found these great felt leaves at Hobby Lobby for half off to make a garland for the doorway between my living room and dining room.. I could cut the felt out myself.. but it's much easier to buy these cheaply.. and the felt in these premade ones are thicker than the felt I have:

Here's a few more goodies I picked up for our Thanksgiving celebration:

I bought these goodies for my iced coffee.. YUM.. just as good a starbucks if you ask me... and cheaper.. and in fact I bought a pound of starbucks ground coffee from Walmart to enjoy with these:

Also, my lemon tree is producing like CRAZY.. and the lemons are HUGE!! It never produced so much.. and we never really did much to it.. so I dunno what happened.. but I had the hubs buy me a juicer to squeeze the lemons and save the juice.. here's about a 1/3 of what's on the tree:

I had a lovely and productive Sunday yesterday.. all the cooking and cleaning was done the day before.. so I could create to my heart's content.. and create I did!! I had purchased some 8"x10" canvases to play with. I made a mixed media project out of it. I painted the background.. giving it a brown wash to give a vintage feel.. and stitched on a felt motif.. i LOVE how it turned out and I can't wait to do more. This one is for an art giveaway even in New Orleans in December.. but I can see myself making more for my own house... the canvases are cheap - and even more so when purchased with a Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon :-). Im not much of a painter - but I sure had fun!!

I also made Harli a Thanksgiving/autumn scarf.. and am thinking she will need one for Christmas too:

The kids did their usual thing on Sunday:

The boys with their faces in the TV:

Jas playing in the top bunk with her hair flying:

Twix looking bored on the front porch:

Harli snuggled under the covers:

Today is back to bidness! We had a break from school but are getting back to the grind today (however slowly my pupil is working).. eating leftovers today so no cooking required.. and I have an itching to get out my sewing machine.. I do have a pattern cut out for the Christoween Doll swap.. I haven't done this size doll in a while so it should be fun.. I have a talented partner so I hope my workmanship will be pleasing to her :-) I need some quick sew gratification right about now.. guess I will get my scraps out and see what I can put together ;-)

Until next time, much love and God bless!!

Look out Thanksgiving.. here I come!!

2009-11-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

Here I am blogging again already.. part of it is due to the fact that we took this week off homeschool.. I needed a break and I am pretty sure the kids did too.. so I have been reading a bunch and doing some creating.. this week I have been redoing my decor to match the Thanksgiving holiday coming up.. lots of pumpkins .. lots and lots.. you saw the ones in the last post.. this time I took a Wee Folk Art applique pattern and made myself a pillow:

It has been so nice to make MYSELF a few things.. normally I am racing around completing swaps or Christmas gifts.. but with my decision to make baked goods as gifts this year- it leaves more time for creating just for creating's sake.. which has been much needed.. (although it does give me great joy to make things for others)..

I got myself some more Thanksgiving decorations from the store also:

I have prepared a couple things to stitch up too:

This for my Thanksgiving decor -

I really feel some cross stitch coming on.. haven't done any in a while.. and I have one more Fallen Soldier memorial to make..

I have been feeling a bit lazy this week.. we have a fall fellowship we are invited to as well as a movie tomorrow.. but the way I feel I doubt we will make it.. it's been a crazy week with field trips, piano practice, trying to clean my whole house including a mountain of laundry.. now it's time to rest.......

Much love and God bless!

One little, two little, three little .. pumpkins!

2009-11-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

Yep.. pumpkins.. now that Halloween is over (and all the decorations taken down) I am getting into Thanksgiving mode.. and therefore the pumpkins are taking over.. since they are my favorite fall decor.. I decided to make some no sew pumpkins with some great tutes I found online (just google "easy fabric pumpkin".. the big ones were made with a toilet paper roll that has layers of grocery bags wrapped around it.. and then that is sat in the middle of a fat quarter and all the edges tucked into the opening of the paper roll.. then I got a stick out of my yard.. put glue on it and stuck in the hole as well.. I cut out a few leaves free hand.. and wah-lah!!

Here's my progress on that upcycled shirt cuff bracelet... it's going to take a while to fill it in.. and may end up being something that I work on off and on to not get burned out on it.. here it is:

That's about all I have to show as far as crafts go.. I have been doing a lot of reading lately.. one of those .. I've been reading a lot of true crime and memoir stuff.. so I am going off that pattern and reading something I have been wanting to read for a while.. I have seen the movie and liked it so much I felt it only right to read the book to.. so now I am reading:

Complicated mother and daughter relationships.. I know ALL about that.. high expectations our mothers have.. resenting them for it - yet always trying to still do that thing that we think will FINALLY give us the approval we seek.. It should be a good read .. if this pitiful library copy doesn't fall apart first.. I also checked out the audio version of Amy Tan's book "The Bonesetter's Daughter"..

This week is home ec week.. lots of cleaning and getting our house in order.. Im getting there.. only left with a little washing to do.. I will also be working on more fall decorations that I will share as I create them..

Much love and God bless...

P.S. If you would like to see all our halloween pictures and decorations.. follow this link:

Click here for my halloween pics

Halloween is nearly here!!

2009-10-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

I've really been getting into my halloween decorations.. it's so strange because never in my adult life have I ever decorated for halloween.. not because of some "religious" conviction - I just never did.. I have always been a diehard Christmas decorator though.. I now have some friends who enjoy Halloween as their favorite holiday and have inspired me into the Halloweenie Spirit :-) I have already showed some of our meager decorations.. here are a few more:

This is my personally painted pumpkin.. it was so fun to do.. and harder than I thought it would be.. pumpkins aren't exactly a smooth surface... after finding some hair pieces of Jas' that we used for braids and fake ponytails - I came up with the girl I have named Coquette McPumpkin.. I told her she could wear my favorite pink cowgirl hat just until this weekend :-) The boys say she looks like me.. I dont see it:

These are some decorations the kids made and I put up.. they did quite well:

And this is a haunted cookie house we will decorate tomorrow - got this from walmart:

Here are some decorations to the front of the house.. I would've done more, but its so close to halloween now - it hardly seems worth it... perhaps next year.. I already have some ideas:

I also finally got around to making Harli her halloween scarf. I had some extra letters leftover from goodie bags I made the kids and added that to her scarf.. I think she looks quite fetching (no pun intended):

I can show a piece I finished off for a gift b/c I believe the recipient has gotten it already.. this is a piece of my husband's old shirt I upcycled.. I used a Sublime Stitching pattern.. embroidered.. painted the background.. and put in a mini shadow box.. I hope she liked it:

I am also using another part of that shirt on another experimental project.. this is the cuff of the same shirt that I doodled a design on and now I am filling in that design with embroidery- and will eventually add some beading.. I think it may actually work.. I intend for this to be one of my mom's Christmas gifts.. it's very easy to pack around as there's not much to pack.. I keep it in my smallest rubbermaid container and it even fits in my purse.. mostly I am using chain stitch and long and short stitch to fill in the spaces:

We have lots of fun things planned for this week... tomorrow we decorate the haunted cookie house.. Friday will be our big party.. with cupcakes.. spooky lunch foods.. games.. movies and fun.. we might even have a dance party with halloween music.. I see that rain is in the plans for Friday and maybe Saturday -so I hope we will get at least a little trick-or-treating in.. they would be very disappointed if we didnt.. we shall see..

Until next time, much love and God bless.

Look at me blogging again so soon!!

2009-10-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

LOL .. Im baaaaaack!! It's amazing what I have time for when I take a break from swaps.. don't get me wrong - they are fun, but when you get over-zealous.. as I tend to do.. you get burned out..so it has been a real joy to get to some things I WANTED to do.. some just for fun.. some for family members.. as you have seen in my last post.. this week has been totally about what MOMMA wanted to do.. so I have been stitching.. it seems the cold weather affects what I want to create.. and in the colder months I tend to do more stitching.. The crayon tinted linens have been really appealing to me.. especially those of the non-traditional sort..so here is a goth version of the girl shown in my last post.. my friend Jody inspired me to change her up a bit..she is in black and complete with tattoos:

Next I did a badbird pattern I had been admiring.. badbird is a really talented artist with some great patterns - free and for a charge.. they are well worth it.. you wont find anything like the on the net.. This is pumpkin girl.. isn't she cute!! I did satin stitching on her stockings, bat on her shirt, and her eyes:

I have more stitching in the works.... be on the lookout..

I also got a request to see my sparse halloween decorations.. I still have some that we are making that is yet to be put up..this is my first year to decorate, so I don't have much.. but here it is:

In the above picture you can see some swap goodies I received (minus my black tree).. aren't they great!! I love them.. here are a couple more swap goodies that I treasure:

This was a pinkeep made by Jeanne.. she knew I loved pumpkins.. and it fits so nicely in my rustic/country decor.. I really love it.. and it's my first "makedo" ..it's really good for any time of year:

And this is an awesome sock monkey I got from Cherie Warhol in a private swap on swap bot.. she even sent a tray of cupcakes.. Cherie really pays a lot of attention to detail:

I also got this lovely RAK from a friend (fleasha)I met on swapbot.. this was so sweet of her and so unexpected. She knew I was bummed about being stiffed on some swaps on swapbot.. and how I admired her button stash:

I started my piano lessons this week.. it is so fun... I have to go today and get my books and my keyboard to practice on.. I might even do a video clip someday soon so I can show off my talents.. lol..

Until next time.. much love and God bless.

Facebook or blogger?

2009-10-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe I haven't blogged at all in the month of October.. with all the facebooking I am doing.. I can't say that I am totally suprised that much time has passed.. all the things that I take time to thoughtfully blog here - end up as random status messages throughout the day on facebook.. in addition to family pictures and crafty pictures being posted.. the only drawback to moving in that direction is that my friends that dont use facebook couldn't see.. and I dont particularly care for that.. but with the infrequency that I have been blogging - I think my viewership has dropped dramatically. I will continue to blog - for now at least..

I have a few things to show and share.. first of all..

my boys are doing amazingly well with underwear.. we have the occassional accident.. and I have to remind them regularly to use the potty.. They are starting to look so much like little boys and less like babies.. I remember these days:

And now look at them.. big boy britches and all:

*sigh* On one hand you are so proud of them growing up.. and on the other hand it's so sad.. they are my last babies.. and this is the last time I will experience these times with my own children.. it's freedom and loss all rolled up together.. I think that never is their growing up so quick when you know they are the last babies you will have..

So this sad momma has turned to her pooch for babying.. and I have lost it.. officially .. now she has a wardrobe of her own.. this is one of her dresses.. and I love her facial expression in this one:

Also, as my mom's furry grandchild.. she gets spoiled too.. she found a cozy place to nap behind Nana who was also napping:

Also, I want to talk about blessings.. so often we thank God for blessings like cash, job opportunities, etc.. and they are blessings.. but we forget blessings that might not necessarily register in our minds as blessings at first..like hand-me-downs.. fortunately - I am not one of those people. We homeschoolers seems to have a tendancy to recycle our stash of books and educational tools, and dont mind having second-hand toys and clothes. I thank the Lord my kids feel the same way.. so when I bring home a bag of second hand toys it's like Christmas all over again.. you just know it doesn't even cross their mind about it being previously used before, or that it is less fun or exciting.. they all gather around as I take the treasures out of the bag and keep asking excitiedly "Is that for ME momma?" Lately I have been blessed multiple times.. with lots and lots of books, clothes, decorations for the kids rooms, etc. Especially exciting was a couple of Crayola Trace Sets we got.. these things light up and have several cartridges and pictures they can trace.. it was so obviously the hand of God.. it was given to me by someone who does NOT have twins.. but there were TWO of them.. God knows my boys, and knows if it was just one- there would always be a fight as to who would use it.. and we are practicing with their drawing and writing.. and this is a fun way for them to practice that .. look at them hard at work (and YES, I have one righty and one lefty):

Also, my nephew was born this week to my youngest BIL and his wife.. this is the newest Prudhomme: Isaiah Daniel.. ain't he handsome!!

Moving right along.. I have made a few things since my last post.. and here they are:

Strangely I have been in the mood to stitch, which I feared would never return.. and here is a Sublime Stitching pattern that I did.. sorta like an old school tattoo.. I am working on a gothic version of this one:

Also for my new nephew - I made these (I still have a blanket, bibs, and burp cloth to make):

I made these trick-or-treat bags for my kiddos.. I could've purchased some cheaper than what it cost me to make them - but having all my swaps done and nothing to make for selling - I wanted to do something special for them.. I like how they turned out:

I did make some more of my misfit dolls.. they keep getting better.. this has to be my favorite batch:

Here's the shadow box I sent out in Viv's Halloween swap.. I really like how this turned out.. it's my first one I have ever done.. unfortunately I haven't heard if my partner has received it or not - I sent it to Australia:

Last but not least.. I had a private swap for a sock monkey.. my partner wanted Andy Warhol.. so here's my version.. I made the clothes - and I am sooo not a clothes maker for dolls - especially if I have no pattern.. his clothes are made from an old wool blazer my mom was giving away.. so here's what I came up with:

Well that's about it for now.. I have a ton of books in my arsenal including Gregory Macguire's "Wicked" and the Mackenzie Phillips memoir "High on Arrival".. plus lots more.. I am going to pick one and take it to bed..

Until next time (and hopefully it wont be so long), much love and God bless.

Just a little something...

2009-09-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

It's been crazy busy around here.. on top of emotional issues getting in the way of my productivity.. nonetheless I have some stuff to show you..

Look at this yummy fabric I got from hobby lobby for 30% off:

Isn't it great.. I love the vintage look to it!! I bought it to make these guys:

I made them with a free pattern from Blinking Lights.. My boys have already put in an order for their own :-)

Next is 2 gifts for a friend.. and I can show them here cuz she's not able to view my blog - ha ha!!

First is a teacup pin cushion with a felt flower askew and a couple dragonfly pins I made:

And an iced sugar cookie needlebook to go with it:

That's about it.. and not much to chat about b/c Im not feeling to chatty.. I am feeling that dark cloud lifting, so perhaps a more chatty blog post next time.. until we meet again - much love and God bless.

Another giveaway!!!!

2009-09-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

My friend Awtem is hosting a giveaway... today is the last day to get your name in the hat to so hurry to her blog to see how to be included..

One of the requirements is to tell what you like best about pumpkins.. my favorite part (although it's difficult to choose) is the pumpkin pie!!! Warm pumpkin pie.. golden brown crust.. with a dallop of whipped cream.. yummmmmm.. I do love to decorate with pumpkins.. so much so that they are up year round.. I dont care if the Martha Stewart types like that or not :-)

Now.. run on over and check out Awtem's giveaway by clicking on the picture of the pumpkin at the top of this post..

Another one down!!!

2009-09-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

Ok so the frenzy to get ready for the church bazaar is overwith.. and considering the size of the church (not more than 200 ppl) - I did pretty well.. sold almost $150 worth of stuff in a little more than an hour's time. I did mark some of my jewelry down that had been hanging around for a while and managed to sell a few of those in addition to a few other things.. here are some things made for the show that I hadn't blogged yet:

This is an egg needlebook with an attached bacon pin cushion.. this is one of the things that sold

Here's a Sock Monster - missing socks out of the dryer? You might have one of these lurking around your home:

Here is a sleepy Audrina - I made her from a Bit of Whimsy pattern... you might remember my blond headed Audrina doll I did for a swap - I used the same pattern for this one, but made a bedtime doll out of her:

This is Gary the Guinea Pig.. another Bit of Whimsy pattern (can you tell I LOVE her patterns?).. My boys will be getting a couple of these:

This is Skittles the cat - yes Bit of Whimsy pattern - sorry about the blurry pic, my camera wasn't cooperating:

This is Petey the Puppy - Bit of Whimsy pattern - I thought he turned out so cute.. you can't see it but he has an adorable tail:

I also sold some of my hand embroidered owls - it suprised me they sold.. I wasn't sure how they would do, but apparently they were well liked.. I made 2 of them for the show and sold them both.

Here is my new, old hoosier cabinet. My dad and his wife got it for me for Mother's day.. it was on layaway and I just got to pick it up .. I LOVE IT!! I was having a trunk show the weekend that piece came in to the shop and I wanted it so bad.. and my dad and his wife suprised me by buying it for me for Mother's day.. So we picked it up saturday and I found a spot for it.. and put all kinds of goodies in it - including a cute tea set my MIL got me for Christmas last year:

Also, I try to patronize my crafty friend's online shops when I can afford to.. I was partnered up with Jeanne for a swap who is amazing with paper mache.. I had been admiring some of her artwork for a while, and finally couldn't take it any longer.. I HAD to buy this adorable pumpkin tea set.. like my friend Awtem.. I LURV me some pumpkins.. this set is now my table center piece:

This was a bargain at $30 (including postage). She has some other pumpkin items I would've already purchased on her etsy site if I had the cash ;-) Perhaps I may with some of the money I got from the church bazaar. Also, Jeanne is having an awesome fall giveaway on her blog - go check it out HERE.

Also here are a few things I picked up from walmart to get into the fall spirit (including the fall leaf swag around my new tea set and one on my back door that is not pictured):

I have lots of swaps and things to keep me busy, but now with the show prep done I can do some reading.. sewing for the kids.. etc and not have any pressure.. today is home ec day in homeschool - so we are cleaning and cooking and whatnot.. so off I go to clean..

Until next time - much love and God bless.

bad lazy blogger i am!!

2009-09-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Yep it is true.. lazy blogger.. I have been playing and sharing so much on facebook (see the link to my page in the right column) that I sorta neglected my blog.. I have been creating.. we've been busy busy with homeschool, and everyday life type stuff..

I have a lot of swaps looming on the horizon, so I am trying to tend to them while also making some things for an upcoming bazaar and now another show my mom asked to include my items in.. Im not going to kill myself making things.. I am just going to make as many as I am able to at my normal pace, and that is that. So here is some of what I have been working on:

These are the teacup (and other objects) pin cushions I have been working on.. I made all the fancy pins out of felt and my sizzix paddle punches.

This is a crappy picture, but I took it quickly with my camera phone.. this is a sock monkey for a private swap.. I need to make him some clothes now.. my partner likes Andy Warhol, so I am going to attempt to make him a black suit, give him long white hair, and glasses. We shall see how that turns out:

Man .. is that ALL I did? It sure felt like more.. I have a million crafty things to tend to this weekend.. including stuff for my SIL new baby due next month... I would like to have it mailed off before it's born *crossing fingers* I also have to finish a blanket for the baby that my MIL asked me to stitch the edges on.. I have some cute iron on things to iron on long sleeve onsies for the baby too.. so hopefully I will get a majority of that done.. there were some good movies that came out this weekend, so hopefully my online movie source will have some on there to watch..

On the kidlet front.. my boys are just clumsy.. they trip over air.. constantly falling and hitting their faces or heads.. at least once a week the boys come crying b/c they cut the inside of their lip with their teeth.. I noticed the other day that one of Jay's front teeth looked a little crooked.. just slightly.. I felt the tooth and it didn't move, so I didnt worry too much since it's baby teeth.. well a couple nights ago - Jay tells me - "Momma, I have moving teeth.. " WHAT? I looked in his mouth and he was right - his front tooth (the one that looked slightly crooked) was ready to come out.. I called the dentist and they said it's unlikely that it was naturally coming out at his age (nearly 4).. more than likely he took one to many falls on his face.. so yesterday - it came out..*sigh* I can only (with great fear in my heart) wonder what is next.. he reminds me of one of the kids from the Little Rascals.. just call him Ruthless Toothless:

Well it's a dreary rainy day... we aren't doing any homeschool.. a good portion of my housework is done.. so its the perfect set up for a crafty day :-)

Happy Birthday to Raggedy Ann!!

2009-09-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to Ann!!!

My friend Awtemnymf is hosting a blog party for Annie today... sharing the love of Raggedy Ann all thru the blogosphere.. here is my contribution to the party:

As you can see - this poor little Ann has no clothes.. just her undies.. this little doll (about 6 inches tall I think) has literally been with me my entire life. It was given to me when I was born and my mom's been carrying her around all these years. I just got her back on my last trip to my mom's.. perhaps I will make her some clothes :-)

This adorable girl was made by a local artist I met at the shop that hosts a lot of my stuff on cosignment.. I had a trunk show there and got to meet the creator of this Ann and had heard she wasn't selling any of these cute dolls. So, in support of the local artist, and because she is so darn cute - I bought her. As a general rule I don't purchase dolls made by other people because I can do them myself - but I made an exception this time. I just love her and her adorable chenille bunny.

Last but not least - this adorable, and sorta-handicapped couple. I rescued these from my local Goodwill. As you can see, Ann's legs are missing.. I haven't figured out yet if I am going to make her legs or take her hubby's off.. so for now, she hides her lack of legs by sitting behind some of my knicknacks.

Well that's my tiny collection - but I love them just the same.. and I hope to keep adding to my collection.. Please check out Awtem's Annie blog party here:

Happenings..

2009-09-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

Lots has been going on since I last blogged..

I got interviewed by a nice reporter named Rose from the Associated Press for an article that could run in any paper in the US.. apparently she did a search on felt food and came up with my blog.. and requested an interview.. I was flattered to say the least.. never in all my days of blogging did I think that would happen to me.. Of course I know my crafty friends visit, but I just never expected to get that kind of exposure. I did a phone interview with her tonight, and I may get a visit from a photographer to take pictures. I can't believe that people would think enough of my creations to use them for a newspaper article.. so I have been on cloud nine since I heard from her..

In other news (lol), I finished my first newsletter for our local homeschool group. Let me just say, you have NO IDEA how much work goes into them.. I literally spent hours on it.. the last couple days on corrections - you would be suprised how many errors you miss.. but it's all done and sent out this month - and the reviews are good so far.. It's definately worth the effort to know it was a blessing to someone else. I have always enjoyed playing with web design and things of that nature - a newsletter is much the same.. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to put things together and adding elements to make it fancier..

I have been doing some creating.. mostly for the upcoming church bazaar... and mostly dolls and similar items.. well dolls and pin cushions.. the creator of this great silly doll pattern (Jacque Davis) gave me permission to sell my dolls based on her free pattern - wasn't that generous of her? So often it is the exact opposite. Who says generosity is dead and gone? So here are my "misfits" .. 4 more of them... or 2 more couples :-) The gentleman with the jeans has clothes made from jean scraps that were left over after I made a purse out of a pair of jeans.. and the gentleman with the brown and orange has an outfit made from a crazy tie that once belonged to my husband's grandpa.

Also, I had to make an owl for a recycled owl stuffie swap on swapbot.. so I recycled one of the girls old sweaters and added some felt.. here's what I made:

That got me on an owl kick.. so here's another made out of the same sweater:

I then decided to make a few more out of some cotton scraps I have.. here are some waiting to be finished:

And here's one of the cotton one's done with a litte embroidery on the wings:

I did manage to finish another felt needlebook with pin cushion:

Next up - the Toy Society (see the link on the right hand side of my blog) - I did my first toy drop at my local market.. here she is waiting to be picked up .. I need to stop by there to see if she was taken yet.. I hope she was:

Last but not least my furbaby.. Friday will be 2 weeks that we had her.. she is AWESOME.. she has yet to have an accident in the house.. she's well behaved.. she is sooo good and patient with the kids.. and just a sweetheart.. she's rarely more than 2 steps behind me.. and she loves to squeeze in the recliner crack when I sit down to sew.. here's the spoiled girl:

She got a little aggravated with my flash on my camera:

My husband (not exactly a dog lover) is starting to warm up to her.. he wouldn't even look at her before.. but now he is starting to smile when she does her cute stuff - and doesn't complain anymore when she jumps up in the bed with us.. I know it will just be a matter of time before she melts his heart too - and I catch him sneaking in a belly rub. He's working nights tonight so it's prime opportunity for her to snuggle up in the bed with me..

Speaking of bed - I have a long day tomorrow.. park day.. picking up heartworm meds from the vet.. until next time..

Much love and God bless.

My New Baby

2009-08-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

No I did not give birth - but I did get a new furbaby.. I adopted her from a local no kill animal rescue group.. it was a lot more particular process than in times past that I have adopted a dog... they checked Vet references.. I filled out questionaires and there was a "home visit".. I live a good distance away from the shelter so they had me email them pics of my house inside and out.. just to see where the pooch was going to be living.. normally they would've come to my home just like when people adopt human children.. I have adopted animals from shelters before - but normally I go there and look and leave the same day with the animal. This process was a bit nerve racking, but it paid off in the end.. and at least I know they truly care about the animals they care for. Another bonus is that for $100 she is already spade and up to date on shots.. which would cost me more than $100 on a puppy if I took it to my vet. So it's truly a win-win situation.

This is my new furbaby Harli (as in Harley Davidson - but I thought Harli looked more like a girl spelling):

This is her picture that was on petfinder

And these are pics we took of her when we got her home:

She is well on her way to being spoiled.. the fat little 12 lb sausage that she is... she is a pug and chihuahua mix... she looks more like a chihuahua other than her broad chest.. here she is napping in her pen (it's the boys old baby pen that I shrunk down a bit):

She doesn't let me go far without her.. she follows me everywhere (even the bathroom)... and since she likes to be with me I put this big pillow under my computer desk for her to lay on (seeing as how this is where I spend a large part of my time - shamefully lol):

She would prefer to be here - but it makes it hard for me to type (please excuse my wild appearance):

She gets along well with my goof of an outside dog Twix.. as soon as I got her out of the truck, Twix wanted to play.. jumping around like a goofy puppy.. she tolerated him and his antics:

She is very good with the kids.. earlier she went and got in the middle of all of them and stood there waiting for them to pet her - which they did.. she is very patient and tolerant.. even of Jay who can't seem to stop hugging her:

Harli is a darling of a furbaby and with my crafty skills - she will be regularly decked out just as a pretty princess should be.. she is a wonderful new addition to our family:

Blogging Funk

2009-08-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

I have truly been in a blogging funk.. I have been busy on vacation, and at mom's.. and now that I have come home we have been transitioning back into our homeschool routine.. and preparing to turn in a leased vehicle.. getting it return ready and all sparkling clean.. my computer time has been spent playing these wildly addictive farming games and "yoville" on facebook.. I can't seem to help myself... but every time I would go to blog I would try to think of something else to do.. I love to share with my friends, but I have just not felt like sitting down and blogging.. so here's what I have been up to..

We went to the National Black Biker's Round Up in Atlanta for our couples vacation.. it was lots of fun.. we had a wonderful time.. here's a pic of the four of us that went together:

This picture was taken at Stone Mountain.. we road the tram up the mountain and walked around once we were at the top.. We also visited the King Center and the underground mall.. here's hubby and I posing for a picture:

I took lots and lots of pictures at all the places we went.. if you are interested in browsing them click on the button below:

I can't say I have gotten a large amount of crafting done.. but a few things have been finished.. here's the rundown:
These are needlebooks -

These are pin cushions -

Also, I bought this great pillow a crafty friend had on her etsy store.. I just couldn't resist.. it is beautifully made and I have it proudly displayed in my living room.. you can see her etsy store (loaded with lots of eye candy at reasonable prices) -HERE

Today I managed to get our classroom corner of the living room vamped and ready to go... here it is looking more tidy than usual:

Also here is a candid shot of the boys.. they have slept this way since they were born, and I suspect while they were in my belly too:

You have probably grown tired of my pictures.. but I took another with my Imac and LOOK MOM - my double chin is gone!!

This weight loss is starting to pay off.. I have lost 25 lbs so far if you have been watching my ticker on my blog you know that already.. I have lost enough now that clothes I was wearing before are beginning to be too big to wear at all.. and things that were too tight to wear before are even getting to big.. my mom gave me this air climber that she had (and didn't use) and I am trying to get myself into a routine of using it.. hopefully it will aid in my weightloss as well.

Well that's it for now.. hopefully I will get out of this blogging funk and be more chatty next time.. but until then - Much love and God bless.

Doin the happy dance for the season 2 premier!!!

2009-07-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

I am so excited.. and I know Leigh and Lucy are with me - the Real Housewives of Atlanta premier of Season 2 is tonight. As I blog this I am half-listening and half-watching the reruns of season 1. I have been totally into every Real Housewives group - Orange County, New York, New Jersey, and Atlanta. I want to know if they are considering a Real Housewives of Louisiana - I would volunteer!! Don't know how the hubby would feel about that.. maybe we could do a new show - the Real Homeschool Mom's of Louisiana :-) Anyway - I am stoked about the season premier.. I will not be taking ANY calls the hour the show is on.. however I will take them before and after :-)

I haven't gotten much work done lately.. playing on the computer.. playing with facebook.. mostly playing with facebook and all their virtual games.. virtual farming.. another game similar to SIMS .. Jas and I play them together.. however I do have a few things to show..

I wanted to show you what I call my "base station".. this is where I work, watch tv, sip my tea, and work on a project.. as you can see from the picture - it is set up for my felt creations right now.. I feel bad about leaving it there. .. and on the other hand.. Im going to get it back out the next day.. so I try to tidy it up before going to bed..

Here are some girly girl pins I am working on based on some cute pins I was inspired by on the internet.. I am experimenting with different hair do's:

Here are some goodies waiting to become pin cushions - the brass cups and glass flower all came from my last trip to Goodwill - less than a dollar each!! The melmac type cups and kitty pushing a cart all came from the hubby's grandmother's house. I would like to give them to family members as Christmas gifts. :

I did make these fancy straight pins too using some random beads I have laying around:

Look at this awesome swap package I got from Susan. I great bunny applique tote, fancy notecards, the book that inspired the totebag and some of the most adorable fat quarters of bunny fabric:

Here is a really cute package from a swapbot swap I hosted called "tea wallet and teabags".. my partner even gave me some great extra fabric :-)

I also got these great felt goodies from a "take your pick" swap on swapbot... she made me these felt keys inspired by Aronzo Aranzi.. and an adorable felt ice cream sandwich - perfect with zero calories and zero fat!!

Here are some things I ordered online and got this week:

This is for our homeschool. It's a great way for all the kids to learn about history.. it's mostly read aloud and discussed.. it's in small "bites" and in terms children can understand. There is more than one family that uses them and are pleased.. it even has an activity book that goes along with it..

Here is a little more stash- I bought these on a tip from another felt lover.. they were originally intended for paper - but worked great with felt.. so when you are making something with a lot of leaves, or hearts, or whatever - they are all uniform:

I have taken a few pictures of myself with my imac cam.. playing with the photo program. I am not usually one for pictures of myself.. but it was fun to play.. here's me with my hair down (I rarely wear it this way because I get tired of my bangs in my face):

Hair partially up and glasses on - I usually start the day out like this.. I have discovered now that it is getting longer I can air dry it like this (this is my hair with gel and air dried).. talk about saving some time.. so I can check my email while my hair dries :-):

And this was sorta a funny one I took to show how my hair ends up (when I get tired of fighting with it all day):

Well that's about it for now. I will be packing and doing last minute stuff tomorrow before I head off to my mom's .. I will probably be online everyday from mom's but I doubt I will be blogging at all. If not - and until we meet again - much love and God bless.

Doing the happy dance

2009-07-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

See that? That's me doing the happy dance :-) Why am I doing the happy dance?? Well Im glad you asked.. Im doing it because I made it to a milestone in my "getting healthy" journey. I made it to 20 lbs lost. It might not seem like much to some.. but for me.. it's a big time milestone. I have lost and gained 10 lbs, 15 lbs.. but never get much farther than that - until now. I asked my husband what we should do to celebrate each 20 lbs lost as it comes along.. and he said - treat it like a birthday.. you get a present.. so he's committed to giving me a gift for each 20 I make it to. He's on his way back from Knoxville, TN and I told him I made it to 20 so he says he's got a gift for me when he gets home.. Im just thanking God for my success. If someone were to ask me why I found success this time and none of the other times I would say - because Im not starving myself and because Im not eating all kinds of yucky diet food. I try to eat 6 times a day (more less 3 meals and 3 snacks). Rather than buy all sorts of special "diet" food - I eat all the foods I love, but in smaller amounts. If I want ice cream, I have ice cream (not everyday mind you) - but instead of a big heaping bowl, I get out a coffee cup, and put in a scoop to a scoop and a half.. and take my time eating it. I haven't eaten out of dinner plates in a while. I eat what will fit in my large saucer.. I eat a lot of raw veggies before dinner (mainly cucumbers and tomatoes out of my garden). If we go out to eat I try to make the healthiest choices possible while still eating what I like..and only eating about a third of what they bring to me. I eat more whole grains. Instead of a candy bar for a snack, I get a 100 cal pack of chocolate covered pretzels.. or a fruit chiller.. or a small chunk of cheese and 6 triscuits.. I don't count calories at all, but my calories are naturally reduced from the reduction of portions and the smarter choices made. Anyway - if you have any other questions about how I have gone about losing weight - I would be happy to talk via private email.

On with the show.. I got 3 dolls done today.. and they are so cute.. like so ugly they are cute.. lol.. they are from a pattern by Jacque Davis I found on flickr. I call them the Misfits - Ed, Ted, and Ernestine Misfit. The faces are completely hand embroidered and Ed's clothes are made from recycled ties:

I have more dolls in the works.. but I think it's going to be felt for me the rest of the evening.

I wanted to mention a change in my blog name. For those of you who have read my blog for a while - you know that I like to change things up from time to time. I started out as Momma's Goodies, then All Stitched Together, and now the Cajun Hillbilly Housewife. I was joking with my hubby the other day saying that was the new name I came up with.. the WV hillbilly transplanted into Louisiana to be a Cajun housewife.. hence Cajun Hillbilly Housewife.. I think it's kind of catchy.. I believe that will be my name on my LLC, but I will have different lines.. like my jewelry is Chickadee Bijoux.. the partnership with my mom is House of Coumarie.. anyway - that's the size of it..

Now I have to tidy up a bit, make a cup of tea, and lets see what I can make next :-)

Until next time.. much love and God bless.

Step AWAY from the felt and no one gets hurt...

2009-07-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I was just supposed to be getting a couple shades of green felt.. but when I got to the felt aisle at hobby lobby - I couldn't help but to be called to all the pretty colors.. their new embossed felt.. tie dyed print felt.. giraffe print felt.. all the yummy felt!! And trust me - I wanted more than this..

I would like to announce I finished a doll!! Yea!! A doll from someone else's pattern!!! Double yea!! But.. I can't show it yet.. it's for a swap and I dont want my partner to see before the swap host posts the pictures on her blog in a week .. so you will have to wait.. But I will share some of the mini felt creations I have been ~~obsessed~~ having fun with:

Bottle cap pin cushions -

This one is also a bottle cap pin cushion, but made with a 32oz gatorade bottle cap.. the house, tree and flower are all handmade pins that I created free-hand.. I love how it turned out -

I made this one today.. kawaii style items are popular right now.. japanese cutsie things like food with faces, hello kitty, etc.. so here is my kawaii style breakfast bracelet.. I also put buttons on as charms.. I love how it turned out -

I wanted to share some of the adorable things I have gotten from swaps lately.. this isn't everything .. but pictures I have on hand of those items -

A cool triangle shaped bag made from recycled men's shirts.. she pieced all those tiny squares.. I also got some tea right from the UK.. I am about to enjoy a cup of it:

These are cute coffee cozies.. the brown one says "good to the last drop":

You can see in this picture a beautiful pink pin cushion I can't bare to put pins in, a cute brown and aqua softy monster, a felt cake, and some handmade soap that smells delish:

This is an Aronzo Aranzi squirrel stuffie and a pink doggie stuffie:

Here's some wonderful things I got from a craftster swap with Cindi..

This is a wall hanging with a saying found in the signature of my email - so obviously it's one of my favs:

These are washcloths and bath mits she made me.. made in yummy neopolitan colors:

Even more important than the swap stuff, I made a wonderful new Christian friend that is sweet as can be.

This last item is a two-kates bag from a swapbot swap. This swapper so thoughtfully made me a bag in one of my favorite color combos with some really cool fabric:

So that's just a small selection of the things I have gotten.. It's been so much fun swapping.. if it wasn't for my mom pushing me to sell some things - I probably only make gifts and swap stuff.. I have some doll swaps coming up that I need to work on.. along with a few other things. I have decided to do mainly group swaps on swapbot as they are more "controlled" than the public ones.. although I imagine there may be a few public swaps I just can't resist :-)

My hubby is off to Tennessee to pick up a trailer for our trucking business...he wont be back until Sunday most likely... so that means I will be alone at night.. perhaps I can get all my swaps done early so I will be free to enjoy my vacation and not be worried about what is waiting to be done at home. So here in a few days I should have a few more pictures to show.. until then .. Much love and God bless.

Lovely, lazy Sunday

2009-07-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

Me and my hubby had a hot date last night.. yep.. we went to a friend's 50th bday party.. had a great time.. danced and spent time with friends.. We managed to get home before midnight.. and I wondered how in the world did I ever manage to stay out until the bars closed (back in the day).. oh yeah.. less kids and much younger LOL... so all that activity made for a lazy Sunday.. kinda lazy.. I did some laundry, napped in my recliner, and did play a little in the felt.. Here's some of the things I did this week:

Here are more bottle cap pin cushions - made to look like cute little toad stool houses

I also did this cupcake bottle cap pin cushion, but I think it looks more like ice cream

Here are a couple felt broaches.. I am pleased with both of them

I needed a sewing kit to hold my needle book and scissors and other things, so I dug around and found a vintage quilt block someone had given me and made it into a sewing caddy

Another thing I worked on was preparing for my adults only vacation in August (yea!!) What is the first thing I prepared?? My project tote.. here's a bunch of felt I cut up in preparation for needle books. I cut a bunch of circles and hearts too.

I wanted to bring something to work on with felt that didn't require me to bring stuffing too, and that I could do all by hand.. so Im going to knock out some needle books for the fall show.. I have an auction I am bidding on for some sizzix paddle punches (that are now discontinued) that I have heard are good for cutting out various shapes in felt (and originally intended for paper) so you get uniform shapes every time.. hopefully I will win it because I have lots of plans for needlebooks and pin cushions that I need these paddles for.

The day is coming to a close and I am going to go cuddle with the hubs and watch some tv.. until next time, much love and God bless.

Sooper Dooper Quick..

2009-07-13T00:11:00.001-07:00

It's late and Im tired, but I know I have a busy week and don't know when I will be able to blog next.. so here goes a quick post to show what I did on Sunday...

I was determined to play in felt.. and had been wanting to try some felt broaches.. I am making a variety of different kinds for the fall bazaar.. If they don't sell, guess what my friends are getting for Christmas :-) so here they are:

Here's the first one I made.. that I turned into a barette.. she seemed to like it:

Next there is a very talented painter that works with my hubby.. she is so sweet and we have talked of "playing" together in her art studio.. she is the only one he worked with that bothered to ask why he was collecting bottle caps.. so I decided to show her what I was making by giving her one of my bottle cap pin cushions. Here's the one I made for her:

Here's another bottle cap pin cushion (this time made with a wide powerade cap instead of a soda bottle cap) and the extra felt corsage for a swapbot swap:

One last thing.. I decided to try my hand at designing some felt needlebooks.. this prototype is cute, but showed me some things i need to workout in the design.. it's cute anyhow and I will use it as a giveaway very soon on my blog:

I have some dollies in the works too, so you will be seeing the beginnings of them very soon... in addition to more of the corsages and even some other felt jewelry I am planning for the bazaar.. anyhow.. until next time..

Much love and God bless!!

A quick peek..

2009-07-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well I have been working on an idea since yesterday.. with my return to dolls I had been wanting to design something cute but simple.. so I just got out my fabric scraps and came up with this one:

The above cute is only about 7 inches tall.. I got the main idea of the doll I was envisioning, but as I worked with it I thought about changes I wanted to make.. incidentally - this will be my first Toy Society drop (see the link in the right column of my blog)..as I worked out the bugs and really started to make some changes.. I came up with this dolly I have named Emma Hugz after my paternal grandmother.. she is almost 12 inches tall.. I really am pleased with her and only have a few more tweaks for the finished product:

Well that's about it.. Im about to retire with my felt containers.. I want to design some felt needle books.. this swapper I met on swapbot makes some adorable ones and I thought I would try my hand at it..

Much love and God bless!!

Let me tell you good my hubby is..

2009-07-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

My hubby is not perfect.. but he's a good hubby nonetheless.. he tolerates my constant need to create .. my frequent web surfing for craft products or ideas.. he even makes an occasional trip to hobby lobby with me (yes, he even comes inside).. and when I ask for something off the wall like, "Could you collect plastic soda bottle caps for me?".. even asking him to confiscate them from people throwing them away at work.. not only does he NOT bat an eye.. but he brings me this the next day:

He doesn't totally understand my need to craft, create, and even recycle "garbage" into art - but he respects it and even helps me supply my needs.. that makes him a definite keeper in my book :-)

Speaking of art.. still no stitching to speak of.. I have sat down with all the supplies and just couldn't bring myself to do it.. I don't understand this mental block.. hopefully it will work its way out on its own.. subsequently I have dropped out of a CQ contest.. I just couldn't will myself to work on the contest block.. although I do intend to finish it and donate it to an alzheimer's charity. Here it is so far.. notice a little cross stitch motif in the center.. it is from a large quaker pattern I have.. my goal was to make the block look as vintage as possible:

Next up is a couple more "silly girl" dolls from the crafty carnival pattern (see their link in my blogroll).. these girlies are so fun to make.. I plan on making each of them a small companion.. like a cupcake with a face, or a kitty.. something like that.. I have another one cut out of felt ready to be hand-stitched.. I also added something special to my silly girls - cute little felt bloomers (panties):

And me on swapbot overload.. I have a few more swap items.. here is a two kates bag (google it and you can find the free pattern online).. I love how it turned out..

Here is a handmade corsage for a swap.. my partner likes owls.. so I scoured flickr for ideas and came up with this:

That corsage was fun to make, and I plan on making more for the church bazaar mom and I are doing at her friend's church. I plan on bringing more "crafty" than artsy things. I do plan to make some dolls, purses, aprons and such as well.

I also made a tea wallet for a swap but for some reason didn't take a picture of it..

I have a wonderful announcement.. I am officially the new newsletter editor for our local homeschool group - Southwest Louisiana Christian Home Educators Fellowship. I felt God had been speaking about it to me for a while now - even when the position wasn't open yet... and it's a testimony (to me) that even when things don't make sense (like God telling you that you will be working a position that isn't available) - be patient, keep having faith in His divine will, and watch how He makes it come to pass... I know some of you will think I am nuts for taking on anything else, but I know that it will fit somewhere. I look forward to the experience..

What are my upcoming crafty plans? Well I have a Summer Reading Swap to work on.. I have a couple swaps to work on for swap bot- private swaps where i am making a sock monkey for one and a raggedy ann doll for another.. and of course.. to play in my felt :-)

Speaking of felt.. it's calling my name.........

Much love and God bless!!

Another beautiful Tuesday!!

2009-06-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

Well.. for the last 3 or so days I have suffered with a pretty bad head cold.. so I have really struggled to not spend the entire day in the bed.. but my medication I take to be able to sleep with a clear nose knocks me out so that I dont even wake up until at least 1030am.. Hopefully in another day or so I won't have to take it anymore! I feel like I have lost half the day already.

I have been creating.. and that is part of the reason why I haven't been blogging much.. I am really amazed what I can get finished when I am not spending half my time surfing the net. I have been feeling more myself emotionally - but this cold really knocked me for a loop. I have been trying to keep an eye on the blogs in my blog roll, and occassionally can post a comment or two.. We have been trying to get our homeschool kicked off again - so you can imagine the kind of time it requires of me as well. I have been doing some cleaning in the kids rooms too.. getting rid of toys and junk that they seem to accumulate.. So I guess you can say I have been very productive lately :-) I have been trying to get the kids out more too.. playing outside.. having picnics at the park.. even Jas and I laying out in the sun and catching rays while the boys nap.

Anyway.. this is a belated thank you to Meari for giving me a Kreativ Blogger award. I haven't gotten an award in a while .. so it was a nice suprise. Meari is a good stitchy friend of mine who has recently been very blessed in the love department and I am so excited for her!! Anyway here's how this thing works:
Now I'm going to pick my 7 favs....I also find this hard to do because I know so many great crafty bloggers..

The rules with this award are to:
1) List 7 things you love.
2) Link back to the person who gave you the award.
3) Pass it along to 7 other bloggers

Seven Things I love:
1. God
2. hubby, the kidlets, and the rest of my family
3. our dog Twix
4. my homeschool group
5. My crafts and all my supplies
6. reading
7. sitting in the recliner with my kids reading books

Seven Bloggers who are deserving of this award...this is merely a sampling of the wonderfully talented and KREATIV women I know.. feel free to browse my blogroll to see more:

Kai
Mylene
Judi
Regina
Janet
Carolyn
Allie

I encourage you to check their blogs and see why I think they are so creative.. they all have different mediums they work in and do beautiful work..

Speaking of work.. heres some swap stuff I made:

Bottlecap pincushion

Felt - Pink "flocked" Christmas Tree Ornament

Hand-stitched Card (pattern my Sublime Stitching)

Apron made from recycled curtain and fabric scraps

Wooden Hearts with Live, Laugh, Love

Extreme Prim Angel Doll

Cupcake (and Ice Cream Cone on Back) Needle book and bottlecap pincushion

So I guess that's about it for now.. we have family coming in this weekend... and then Jas is off for a week with my mom.. leaving me and the boys here at home.. I have lots to keep me busy .. so until next time.. much love and God bless.

What have I been doing?

2009-06-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all my lovely internet friends with your prayers and wishes for me to feel better.. I must say that your prayers worked, because as each day passes I feel more and more like myself again.. I still am not back to blogging like before, but for good reason.. I have been creating!! I don't realize how much time I spend on the computer looking at other people's work instead of getting my own done.. so when I feel like this - not really in the mood to blog or chat.. I sometimes get productive with my time :-) I had really lost a lot of the joy in creating - when it became my "job".. making stuff for shows .. making stuff to sell online.. making stuff to sell in my local shop.. not that I don't appreciate my sales for the blessings that they are, but I get very focused and forget to have a little "fun".. and like my friend Judy A would say - play in the glitter :-) So I have been playing in the glitter so to speak.. and joining swaps on swapbot allows me to do that.. I join the swaps for things I really want to make, and even have been hosting a few myself.. I have even gotten to the point where if I get "flaked" on in one of the swaps, I still get the joy of brightening someone else's day. I even joined this great group called "The Toy Society" where basically you do random acts of kindness by dropping handmade toys in various locations for the first passer by to take home with no strings attached. You will see the link in my right hand column - feel free to check it out.

So I have some swap stuff to show you.. Here's a bear and his "kitty" for a handmade softie swap.. both are completely handsewn out of felt:

These are some cards I made for a Creative Card Challenge.. you were challenged to use the same quote on 2 cards - doing a different design on each.. I am by FAR not a card expert.. but they are so much fun to make:

I made this little guy for the Make Me a Monster swap .. I designed him myself and named him the Red Headed Stepchild Monster.. lol.. I destroyed the pattern after I was finished so there will never be an exact duplicate.. my partner likes regional ghost stories.. so I also printed her up some info on a local haunted plantation that I have actually visited before.. and because she likes halloween - I made her a beaded spider bookmark:

Im not even going to get into the list of things I have to do for swaps, charity work, my own HOME.. lol.. it is never ending.. but I am having fun and doing some crafts that I haven't touched in ages.. and still getting my housework and homeschool done.. homeschool is going well and they amaze me everyday with how smart they are.. it's really been a double blessing being home.. I get to be with my kiddos for this precious time of learning and growing.. and I get time to spend on my other passion - my crafts.

May you all have a lovely rest of the week, that is what I intend to do. I am also planning another giveaway - so be looking for that! God bless!!

Sunday Update...

2009-06-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I'm not my normal chatty self... but I have a lot on my mind - which makes me turn inward a bit and not feel like chit chatting.. I have been trying to channel my energy into something productive.. I have been working on a CQ contest piece.. and these items:

This is a slice of a napoleon pastry.. I love how the custard and cream squeezes out from between the layers of pastry:

This is the actual package going to my swap partner complete with the green takeout container- including a mini doughnut I made as an "extra":

This slice of jelly roll didn't turn out symetrical like I wanted - so I decided to keep it and put it on my shelf in my craft space:

Two more items to show - felt popsicles. I made up the pattern for these cuties and gave a copy of it and the instructions to the recipient of these goodies.. hope they like them:

So that's about it.. we've been on a homeschool hiatus for nearly a month now, and I feel the need to get back into the swing of things.. we are going on our usual summer routine.. a little reading.. a little math.. and a lot of fun.. and perhaps I will be back in my chatty mood and have a little more of our life to share.

Some swapbot stuff..

2009-06-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

I don't have a whole lot to chat about .. but I do have some stuff to show.. these are items for swap bot..

This is for a sock monkey swap. This is Dr. Strangelove.. he is a Biochemist by day.. and a vampyre by night.. I made him a big apple - like the one you see on the Twilight book. My partner is reading the Twilight books so I thought it was a good fit.. he was a lot of fun to make:

This is for a handmade doll swap... this is from a free pattern on the net called Silly Girl by Crafty Carnival.. she was so fun to make and is entirely handsewn out of felt. She even has panties but I didn't want to embarrass poor Suzee Homemaker! She wanted to bake something special for my partner - so she made Cuppie Cake.. isn't he cute! He's a yellow cupcake with a dash of melted chocolate and a cherry on top. Suzee even has her own little hand-embroidered apron:

One other thing .. I got this book half off the bookstore price.. I bought it on Amazon.. the binding wasn't even cracked.. I can't wait to make some of the things inside:

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little crafty minute.. Im tired and should really be in bed.. until next time.. much love and God bless.

Bad blogger.. bad bad blogger!!

2009-05-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Seems like I haven't blogged in ages.. and it has been a while.. but with good reason.. well - at least to me anyway.. it's been a hectic several months with sports and other activities.. I have had shows and other things going on.. and the last couple weeks I have been just been taking a break from it all... school.. blogging.. my webstore.. anything remotely like work - with the exception of taking care of my home and family.. honestly, I have for a long time now fought some depression issues without medication.. the one I had tried had side effects worse than the thing it was supposed to treat.. so I haven't taken anything for a year.. and it's been an emotional rollercoaster.. which affects my ability to concentrate on anything really - and can make me seem sorta scatter-brained at times.. not being able to really focus.. so after my yearly appointment I am trying a new med with supposedly less side effects.. so hopefully you will see a more focused and happier me :-) And as a result - more completed projects to show :-)

So you want to see what I have been up to?? SURE you do :-) Ok - well did I mention I have been going O.C.D. on swapbot? I have been really having a lot of fun with it. Unfortunately the reality is that there are flakers there (those people who receive their swap but never send), but I have been blessed to not experience that yet.. I have learned not to join those swaps where you buy all sorts of stuff with a value of $15 to send to your partner - thats too much to invest. I also learned to join swaps that have high requirements of those who join. It's still no guarantee - but the odds are better. I remembered why I liked it so much before though - and that's because it challenges me to try new things and not get stuck in a rut. It also reminds me of some other crafts I enjoy, but not necessarily make to sell.. So here are some of the things I have made - some for myself, some for swaps, and some for gifts:

This is a crazy quilted square I did for a sweet sweet lady named Crazy Judyth... she is a gem of a woman and the queen of recycling fancy fabrics .. she is where I go when I want fancy fabric at a reasonable price. Anyway - she had surgery recently and was the recipient of a heart and flower shower where the cq'ers send a nearly completely embroidered (so she can work on it too) or a completely embroidered block..there were a lot of firsts on this block for me.. my first curved seams, my first dyed lace, my first time couching thread.. and she loves what she calls "honkin orange".. so here's my honkin' orange block for her:

Next in the line-up is a swap project for swapbot- partially completed.. this guy has no accessories yet because I am waiting for my partner to be assigned so I can see his/her profile. Im actually not sure of the gender yet because their profile will determine that as well. And yes, I did the eyes different on purpose lol. This is my very first sock monkey..and let me say the stretchy material of the socks was a &^%$$ to work with..oh and the ear isn't crooked like the pic makes it seem:

Next I was playing with some wire wrapping and did a coil wrap around this ring and then added some turquoise and black glass beads.. this will probably eventually end up as a pendant.. I love how it turned out:

Next are some corner bookmarks I made using the corners of old envelopes - you know how I love to recycle.. these were so much fun.. and so quick to make.. I could see these as gifts for some of my online friends at Christmas...My online buddy Judy reminded me about just playing the other day (she happened to be playing with glitter) - so when I do things with paper - I get the same freeing feeling.. These are for a swapbot swap and are already on their way to their new owners:

Ok so you know how I have been on a felt food kick lately too.. well I found a way to incorporate that into a blog swap I joined.. it was for a swap of a pin cushion.. so I made this great duo for my partner (who should soon receive it).. it is a chocolate tart with strawberry cream and a banana AND cup of creamy cappuchino. This was from a pattern by July Hobby on etsy:

On the felt topic - I bought some patterns from July Hobby to make things for Jasmine for her birthday (that has already gone by).. here is what I have so far in the tea party set:

Next up is some stash to show.. I got a couple books at Books-a-million that I had been wanting forever.. and here they are:

Notice the Cute Dolls book? That is a great Japanese book translated into english with the cutest little dolls.. I know I know - I wasn't going to do anymore dolls .. but remember swapbot - I saw a swap for one of these dolls and after researching them - HAD to try them.. the books are great and easy to understand.. Here is my first creation using the book - with my own additions to the pattern (mine being the belly panel, panels in the ears, and the hiney of course):

This is Moe-Moe Munky:

I realize now the arms look diff lengths, but that is because of the the way he was laying on his tail - he's symetrical though.. oh and here is his uh hem.. hiney:

So there you have it... that's what I have been doing in addition to a fallen hero memorial with nothing much to show.. a block for a contest.. and a lot of laundry that seems to always be multiplying..

I like to close with those crazy kids of mine.. well just as I suspected - the boys saw Jas' apron and wanted one.. except.. they call theirs.. "cookers" .. so I found a cute pattern for more manly aprons made from fuzzy kitchen towels.. so here are the boys in their "cookers":

So until next time - much love and God bless.

My baby turns 9

2009-05-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

Today was my DD 9th bday... it's hard to believe that 9 yrs have passed already since I bore my first child.. somedays - it feels like yesterday.. and other days it seems like a million years ago.. Ultimately - my first baby is growing up and soon will be coming into her "womanhood".. it's happy, sad, bittersweet, joyous all wrapped into one.. eventhough there are times when I am frustrated and at the end of my rope questioning my own sanity when I decided to have children - I know that she has always been a great blessing in my life.. she brought me down to earth and forced me to get my head straight.. when I didn't care enough about MYSELF to do "the right thing" - she came along and because I loved her, I got myself together.. knowing my baby was counting on me, and me alone - I stepped out on a limb and did things I would never before had the courage to do... I hope that someday she will see the things she helped encourage me to do - and know that even if I am not always so great at showing it - I love her beyond measure and value her greatly in my life.. I thought I would show a few pics of the only chubby baby I had :-)

And here she is saturday (complete with stage makeup) dressed to receive her medal at dance recital for having been in dance for 3 years. She looks so grown up:

Hubby and I got her a new bike for her birthday. She had recently taken the initiative to learn how to ride without training wheels (on my step-daughter's old bike).. so hubby decided that kind of go-get-'em attitude should be rewarded.. with a brand new bike of her own. He did an excellent job of finding the perfect bike for her - complete with ladybugs (ladybug was her nickname when she was born)..she spent a majority of her time outdoors riding her new bike today.

I also had wanted to make her an apron and chef's hat for her birthday.. she loves to help cook - so I figured she would need those "essentials" :-) I used some cute vintage looking kitchen towels from the dollar store and some fabric and trims I had around the house.. She LOVED it.. especially how I "girlied" it up.. I even added a string of pearls to the apron itself.. I guess it's more of a "hostess" apron than a cooking one.. It was so super quick to make - that I imagine she may get a couple more to change out.. she pretty much wore it all day too.. here it is:

Naturally the boys saw her outfit and wanted to be "cookers" too..lol.. I imagine I will make them each a set of hats and aprons.. for the time being I put together some super quick capes out of some upholstery scraps that I had .. that and some seam binding.. I wanted something quick and easy that I could test out to see if they would play with it.. rather than spending all day on something that ends up at the bottom of the toy box. They wore them a majority of the day.. and seemed quite pleased.. unfortunately that heavy fabric doesn't flow like a super hero needs it to.. so I may go thrifting for some light pillow cases to use instead.. I would probably get 2 capes out of 1 pillow case.. anyway ( let me stop rambling) here is one of them:

Here are some things I have been finishing up..

This is for a handmade coaster swap on swap-bot...there are 6 fabric coasters and 6 wine glass (water goblet) charms:

This is a coffee cozy also for a swap on swap-bot:

This is a primitive stitchery piece for a swap on swapbot:

I also finished a XS piece.. but can't show it right now because it's part of a contest.. so I will have to show it to you once the contest is over..

I really have my hands in a lot of pies right now.. especially in the charity department.. I want to help with every cause - and of course that's not possible.. but I get kind of overloaded and burned out.. while still wanting so badly to help.. so I took a time out (in addition to be rediculously busy with end of sport season and dance activities in the last month or two) to do the above things (and more).. and I feel refreshed again.. already planning out a project for this group: The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative

This wonderful group accepts your donation of a 9"x12" (maximum) quiltlet.. they auction it off, and the proceeds go to raising awareness and researching for a cure for Alzheimers. I have had family members afflicted with it, and recently watched an HBO documentary ("The Alzheimer's Project") that was very moving. After watching the documentary - I knew I HAD to find a charity that would accept my stitchery as a donation.. and one google search later, I found the website linked above.. I have a CQ block going into a contest... so after the contest is over - I will be donating my CQ quiltlet to the charity. I know you always ask where I find the time? I really don't know - but I know it must be God's will for me to participate because He always makes a way ...I feel he leads me to use my artistic talents to help others - even in such a small way.. I must say it is way more rewarding than any piece I have EVER sold.. I believe that is what God wanted us to do when asking us to give of ourselves.. help those who need help.. for someone like me who doesn't work outside the home - that is my main way to contribute.. I highly recommend it.

Speaking of charity - I am nearly done kitting up my second fallen solider sampler - and plan to get started soon.. I will be glad to have my first two framed and off to the family. Just to show you God's divine plan for our lives - the solider that I was given randomly - is buried in a cemetery directly behind my house - with one of his brothers living three houses down for me.. I plan to go this memorial day and leave alittle something on his grave.. I would like to find a couple african violets to purchase in honor of my grandparents who so loved that flower..

Ok just a few more stash pictures... here are some great swaps I RECEIVED on swapbot - renewing my faith in the site:

A fabric postcard (unfortunately my partner has noted if she received hers yet - and I forgot to take a picture) -

I got this in the cupcake swap.. I adore the cupcake and all the lovely extras:

Here's some wonderful jewelry making goodies mom mailed me.. I see some charm bracelets in the near future:

Last but CERTAINLY not least I purchased this doll from the shop where I have some of my jewelry and things on cosignment.. I had the opportunity to me this doll artist and she was a very nice lady who was interesting to talk to.. unfortunately I misplaced her business card - so when I find it I will come back and insert her name here.. anyway - I can make prim dolls.. but I decided I wanted to bless another artist.. especially since the dolls hadn't been selling (this area is not a good market for them).. they really all adorable.. named and everything.. the doesn't charge much for these dolls at all.. they are worth what she charges and way more.. here's the one I got with a cute little bunny (and yes, the baby in the picture behind her is me):

I wanted to share a little scare we had tonight.. one of my 3 yo DS decided it was a good idea to stick a tiny rock in his ear.. luckily I flushed it with a bit of water and it came out.. but I was afraid we were going to have to make a trip to the ER.. God help me - they are only 3 and doing things that make me wonder how will they ever make it to 4 yo. LOL.. AFter three years, I can say that raising a boy (especially twin boys) is WAY more stressful than raising my daughter.. I have a feelign that will make a switch once my daughter is into her teens :-)

We have officially started our summer.. all our spring activities are over as of Saturday.. no more practices.. no more games... no more rehearsals.. We homeschool year round.. and we did take a week or two off while my mom (and then my dad) were here.. but I feel the need for about another week off.. just to get my wits about me.. and get my head in the game for educating the kidlets.. our summer is a bit more relaxed education than the rest of the year.. but is part of our education nonetheless. Homeschool allows a flexibility that I have not seen with any other kind of education.. allowing us to take breaks when we need it - not necessarily when they are scheduled.. and momma needs it :-)

So Im off.. working on a few things I mentioned before.. watching a movie or two.. and thanking God for my crazy life that he blessed me with :-)

Until next time, much love and God bless.

2009-05-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Yes it's been a while, but I have a good excuse :-) I had a big trunk show to prepare for.. then.. I had family in town for a week.. and while I have had a bit of time here and there to work on my to-do list of projects.. I really didn't have the time or inclination to blog about any of it. Now that the company has returned home, and I am trying to get back into my regular schedule.. I will fill you in on some things we have done and some things I have finished..

We had a really great visit with my dad and his wife.. here's Pawpaw with his grandkids:

And here is the "train" the kids made with my stepmom - to brush each other's hair..and of course - PawPaw always messing with the kids.. lol:

The grandpas (my dad and hubby's dad) along with Marcus took the grandsons fishing.. and caught quite a bit.. here's the grandpa's with the fish (the boys were sleeping by then):

Then the boys and hubby the next day with the fish they caught:

Believe it or not, Eli caught the biggest fish.. his very first fish he caught on his first fishing pole.. he was very excited.. Dad told me they got in the truck to go home and said "Poor Daddy, didn't catch any fish..." Lol.. of course my dad put them up to it. Jokester that he is. We were really sorry to see them go, but I did get a bit of good news.. they plan to move here within the next year or so. I am so excited to have them so close.. Dad and I plan on doing some woodworking stuff together - so perhaps I will have joint businesses with BOTH my parents.. With 2 such creative parents - I guess it's not suprising how many crafts I dabble in ;-)

So here's some of my finishes..first is my flapper stitchery project.. the stitchery is done.. now I need to figure out what it will become:

Also - I made some more jewelry.. and here it is:

This one is made with zebra jasper and jet glass:

Today I finished up a project too.. this is one I am particularly proud of. My dad runs a high end cigar shop in Florida.. and gets me lots of cigar boxes.. so I decided to try to make a CQ piece with one.. and came up with this trinket box. I am very pleased with how it turned out..You will see that I used some of my vintage-looking buttons to cover up the wording on the front.. this will go as a belated mother's day gift to my stepmom:

My dad brought me a bunch of cigar boxes to play with.. I plan on doing more of these and making some purses as well. There is one box in particular that I plan on making a sewing box out of. Fun!!

So we have a crazy busy week ahead of us.. 2 days of softball games, 1 day of dress rehearsal for recital, and 1 day for recital.. not much week left huh? Ahh such is life. But good news is that this week ends dance and softball - as our two games this week are the last 2 and the recital ends the year of dance until fall. So we will be free of any mandatory scheduled activities. I look forward to some spontaneous trips to parks, playdates, museum visits, crafts, etc. What a fun way to start our new "year" of school!!

So to get to the fun - we have to do the work.. so off I go to get my work done so we can go to Jas' game tonight.. until next time much love and God bless!

How does your garden grow?

2009-04-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

~~Mary, Mary~~ Courtney, Courtney quite contrary (yes, I can be at times - ask the hubby), how does your garden grow? LOL Well apparently I am a much better veggie gardener than flowers... Not a single flower has sprouted up.. but I also know that the seeds on the flowers were much smaller so perhaps they will take a bit longer.. so I won't throw in the towel on that just yet. But my veggies have a great start.. the only thing that hasn't made an appearance yet is my canteloupe, banana peppers and bell peppers.. Here's what it looks like so far:

My baby hot peppers still in the "incubator":

My watermelons - looks like I need to weed. I had not weeded yet b/c I wasn't exactly sure what was my stuff sprouting up and what was weeds.. looks I have some work ahead of me this weekend:

My poor little pole beans - they are getting inundated with fire ant hills and there aren't as may of them as I would've liked. We need to find a natural way to get rid of the ants:

My yellow squash - that is really flourishing:

My cucumbers (I think that's what this is.. now looking at my pictures Im not sure I didn't confuse something LOL):

And now the cous de gras - my tomato plant with a flower on it!! Yeah!! I know seeing that flower that it is moving onto the next stage and closer to producing some fruit :-)

Ok I have an obsession with my kids feet.. I can't explain it.. when they were little babies I would smell their feet, playfully bite on them, etc.. I love baby feet. I was observing one of their feet yesterday and realized they look just like my dad's feet - high arch and all.. and it just so happens to be my dad's namesake (I gave Eli my dad's middle name as his middle name). I know you never saw my dad's feet.. but here's Eli's, for those of you that like cute little feet lol:

I also thought you might like to see my VERY expensive and highly "technical" lightbox. I use it to trace stitchery patterns onto paper. I ran across a great flapper pattern online here.and thought it would make a great pillow for my mom's bedroom. So here it is, I doubt anyone could afford this:

LOL yep - my window - I use it at my light box. Ok so it's not expensive.. but very practical. I recommend it - especially in these economic times when we can't afford the really nice lightboxes. I guess I have to do all my tracing during the day. If you google it - there are lots of other people with inexpensive light box ideas.. one of them I saw used a the glass and frame of a picture frame sitting on a box with a flashlight in it.. most of that stuff you can find around the house. Here's the flapper face after tracing - now I have to crayon tint it:

I got a very generous package from a friend for Jas.. so she has made a thank you package in return for her.. so here's some jewelry mostly made by Jas (with just a tiny bit of help from me):

Ok.. Im working on some prototypes felt truffles.. I have seem some on the internet.. they aren't as easy to get formed as they look.. this may be one I will have to buy a pattern for.. they turned out ok I guess:

Did I stitch any?? Don't ask.. err.. Im about to (have I been saying that all week)? LOL well we shall see.

You have a blessed day!!

Got any stitching done?

2009-04-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

Did I stitch any since last post.. NOPE.. have I been busy?? Yep.. 2 new obsessions.. aprons.. and felt food.. so I have been playing with that.. although I need to work on some CQ projects tonight.. in addition to a million things I would like to "try".. I have a Tree of Life pendant video I need to make good use of also :-)

My friend Kai is the one that got me looking at felt food a while back.. and after running across it again the other day... and looking at a pile of red,green, black, and brown felt I bought at Christmas time.. I decided .. I just HAD to try it.. famous last words for me - for those who really know me.. I decided it would be cute to make some for the kids.. and some would make cute pin cushions for practical use - or for collectors.. here is my first tasty doughnut:

and the cous de gras - my fancy mini cake complete with chocolate covered strawberries:

This was really a lot of fun to do.. and I see more goodies in my future.. I have a list of felt colors I need to get on my next trip to Michaels.. Another good thing about this type project it goes well into a large ziplock and is all hand sewn - so it travels well.

My other project aprons.. I adore them.. always have.. ever since my beloved Mawmaw put one on me to collect cucumbers out of the garden. I have been in search of this vintage orange with small white polkadots fabric(that was the fabric of the apron my grandmother always gave me to use).. and I haven't found out it yet - but used this "plaid" orange and white with contrasting black trim.. it's a half apron.. I love it.. don't be suprised to see me wear it to the store.. it's perfect to drop my cell phone and mp3 player into when cleaning or phone and money when running to the store. I was reading a blogger post where the mom felt more in control with her aprons on- so I am willing to try it.. I found this awesome etsy store with some great vintage looking aprons.. and being the craftster that I am - I am wanting to try my hand at it first.. so here's the book on it's way from amazon:

I want to make a variation of the one with the sweetheart shaped bib. I will try to talk myself into modeling my first one of those for a picture :-) Anyway - here's my orange and white half apron:

Well.. lots coming up and very little time.. so until next week Im afraid -much love and God bless!!

Thank you!!

2009-04-26T10:32:00.001-07:00

I want to start this post out by saying thank you.. thank you Miss California for not compromising your beliefs ...thank you for being a stand up Christian and giving an honest AND respectful answer regardless of who was asking the question. Thank you for having dignity and poise despite the crusade that openly gay Perez Hilton is waging against you and the opinion you have the right to express. Just like CNN journalist Roland Martin said in his online post - these are my sentiments exactly:

"A lot of folks are always saying they like to keep it real, that they want authenticity and straight talk. Yet when someone actually does it, there is hell to pay..."

"Hey, Hilton, from a real journalist to a wanna-be who traffics in gossip: Never ask a question if you're unprepared for the answer!"

"Sure, Prejean could have gone the safe route and given one of those answers that reveal nothing and is hard to decipher -- you know, the ones politicians give all the time -- but no! She actually gave her real opinion, and is now being torn to shreds for it."

"At the end of the day, we all have to be true to ourselves. Whether it's a gay gossip writer who favors same-sex marriage or a heterosexual woman who is against same-sex marriage. The day we condemn folks for speaking honestly is the day we become a bland society."

You can find the entire article here:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/22/martin.miss.california/

My husband and I don't normally get deep into politics.. but it was just shocking that an interest group like the homosexuals that campaign for tolerance are not so tolerant themselves. I have personally found that to be the case in more than one circle. I used to belong to a radical unschooling yahoo group b/c some of the ideals I could identify with (educationally).. they would go on about being respectful and feeling comfortable to be open.. but the MOMENT I made a comment that let them know I was Christian I got pounced on like a gazelle being pounced on by lions in the African plains.. seriously. As open as a lot of groups like to make ppl believe they are - generally fit this category - we are open and respectful as long as you hold the same beliefs as we do. There are some Christians that may fall into that category as well. We are told to be politically correct towards anti Christian ideals - but no one has to show us the same respect. My husband (whom is black) said it is no different that a black man/woman pulling the race card out everytime he encounters someone that doesn't agree with him.

I didn't see it all, but I did see some video clip of Perez Hilton calling Miss Cal a "dumb b-----".. now that's classy. He said that she didn't prepare well for that question (which she said she HAD prepared to answer).. just because she wasn't in agreement with him .. or just because she didn't skirt the issue.. didn't mean she didn't prepare. Basically he is saying she gave the wrong answer. Last time I checked an opinion is not something that is either right or wrong, but exclusively yours and you have a right to it. I for one think she did give the right answer, and not because she agreed with what I believe, but because she stuck with her morals and beliefs in the face of losing the crown - and despite a whole lot of closed-minded "free thinkers" ready to pounce on her. Thank you Miss California - as far as this house is concerned - you are the TRUE winner.

That out of the way.. let me share with you a stitchery pattern I designed myself. As I said in the last post I joined a couple swaps on swapbot - one of which is a stitched cupcake 5"x5" block - to be finished by the recipient.. So I drew up this cute cupcake stitchery pattern:

This is my original design. Do not copy without my express permission. You may use it for your own personal use - but do not sell or kit up. Be sure to give me credit when you do use my design by linking back to my blog.

Here is my first one down (I have a pink one and a purple one to stitch for other swaps):

I hope you enjoy the pattern and I would love to see what you make with it. I will post a link to your blog for others to enjoy your creation as well. This was really fun to design and I may design more in the future.

Last but not least - the giveaway.. I was pulling the mystery items for the giveaway and decided to pull 2 winners.. I certainly have enough stash to supply that and then some and still barely make a dent in what I have hoarded. I have also thrown some leaflets that I have in my collection as well. If the winners don't like what they have received - feel free to pass it on to someone who will :-) And the winners are:

Linda in TX and Susan Robinson!!

Congrats ladies!!

Here's some belated soccer pics of the kids.. these are the ones taken by a photog:

So Im off to enjoy a lazy sunday.. well sorta... and then a little preparation for the busy week next week. Thanks to everyone that reads my blog, comments, and takes time our of your day to see what Im up to. Im not able to respond to most comments b/c they come to my inbox from a no-repy address if you aren't logged into blogger. But I appreciate every comment and they brighten my day on a regular basis.

Sewing marathon!!

2009-04-25T10:43:00.001-07:00

I don't keep my sewing machine out.. so when I do get it out.. I usually try to put more than one item together.. I finally finished a gift for my step-grandmother for mother's day.. it was a CQ block that I embroidered, beaded, and turned into a tote.. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I used really stiff interfacing that will help it stand up to some wear.. here's the bag and the individual seam treatments:

This was my favorite - my beaded spider. They have an interesting history on crazy quilts.. it has (according to my sweet and talented friend Carole Samples in her book Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches - something that should be in EVERY crazy quilter's bookshelf) something to do with King Herod and how the spiders hid the baby Jesus by wrapping him in a cocoon.

So that was fun.. my first completed CQ block in a good while.. this block helped get me started on getting the rust off my crazy quilting hand :-) I hope the recipient will like it.

So while in the spirit of CQ - I piece a couple more blocks.. this one that will become a fabric box for my mom:

And this one that I will use to turn a wooden cigar box into a trinket box:

I already started the seam treatments.. here is the first one.. Im working on these bullion knots that hurt my fingers! :

So now with my sewing machine neatly packed away.. I decided to color in an Aunt Martha's Hot Iron transfer.. this will either become an applique or a small doll.. As you can see my shading skills need some work :-)

Last in the crafty department is some preprinted fabric blocks that i assembled with muslin and batting for my daughter and myself to work on.

We are reading a book in homeschool about Betsy Ross - so I figured this would be a good opportunity to show Jas a little beginner hand-quilting. I figure they will become pillow or something of that nature. I will keep you updated. Hopefully we will get started on them today.

Ok so like I need more to do BUT, I joined some swapbot swaps.. one for a cute stitched cupcake on a 5"x5" square and another for a fabric postcard. I am going to do a cupcake on both and plan on using my own original design (that I will also be offering here on my blog very soon for free). I also wanted to do one with a crazy quilted postcard, but there weren't any listed.. SO, I created my own swap. I would love for my crafty friends to join.. be sure to let me know who you are since the swapbot handles don't always match what I see on groups or blogs. Here is the link to the swap: Crazy Quilt Postcard Swap

Last but not least - another giveaway!! Yeah!! I just keep thinking - I need to seriously thin my hoarded stash.. so I am going to do a mystery giveaway.. I am going to put together a couple more cross stitch magazines - maybe vintage or maybe more recent.. a kit.. and some aida fabric.. Im going to do this the same as the last giveaway. The first comment on my blog will be the winner.. but since I have to approve all comments I will hold off on that for a day.. and so on Sunday I will publish all comments and we will get to find out who managed to comment first :-) This is always fun for me too.. and I like to think that something that might not have been used before will finally get to be fully appreciated :-)

Well, I have a trunk show a week from today. I must admit I haven't been rushing around making stuff.. I do have some new things made (that I have shown you before) - but it's so much less stressful knowing mom is bringing stuff (and she has TONS) to fill in the gaps.. or perhaps I am filling in the gaps :-) I will spend a few days making a few more pieces for the show..I will be sure to take pictures and share.. I will be bringing anything I have made in addition to my jewelry- purses, dolls, etc.

Until next time, much love and God bless.

And the winner is...........

2009-04-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

I published the comments on my last post.. and the winner of the vintage mags is ... SHELLEY!!!! Congrats Shelley!! I decided to put a third vintage mag in the package - hope you enjoy :-) I want to also say a resounding thank you to everyone that commented on my post, and my blog in general. I can always count on lovely comments. Unfortunately often Im not able to comment back b/c blogger doesn't give me a link to that person (I get a "no reply" email address from the comment). So even if I don't get to respond to your comment - know that I appreciate them from the bottom of my heart :-)

So some of you know - I have headed back to CQ.. and in the spirit of this return - I finally finished a large project. It started out as a 4 season block share.. that took several months to complete.. Each person would piece their block, embroider half - and send it to their partner to embellish the other half (while they send you theirs to embroider half). We did that for each of the four seasons. The finished blocks have been sitting in my UFO drawer while I pondered what to do with them.. and here are the 4 blocks:

I decided to finish them in a bell pull type fashion.. something non-traditional (to me anyway).. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I put a hanging sleeve on it that you cannot see:

I realized recently that not many of my own creations are displayed in my home.. they either are up for sale - or at someone else's house.. most of what I have here is stuff I got from different swaps. Anyway, I decided it was high time I had some of my things to show when people come to visit. I think this was an excellent start :-)

Unfortunately, my other CQ block I have been working on is not quite done. I still have some beading to do on it. I plan on giving it to my stepmom's mom for mother's day. She is sorta my step grandmother - and the kids step great grandmother.. and she really is a sweetheart - so I will make it into SOMETHING for her.

I have gotten back to scheduling my day.. or at least having chore lists of my own.. and it has seemed to help.. my laundry is no longer Mount Washmore and I do a load a day.. my house is very clean.. and dinner is done every night.. I think perhaps I need to do the same for my crafts.. alternating between CQ, cross stitch, woodworking, jewelry, etc.. I bet I would get more done because I wouldn't waste time trying to figure out which medium to work in.. and honestly when that happens, sometimes I give up and don't do anything.. Being organized it definately a way to make more of your time..

Oh an on the garden front.. my tomato plans are growing.. and my beans, squash, and cucumbers have started sprouting out of the ground. Unfortunately the red ants have made homes in some of the dirt mounds, so I will have to get something to fix that. None of my wildflowers have sprouted - which leaves me a bit concerned. WE shall see.. I will be sure to take pics of my growing garden soon for you to see.

One last thing I made today - an apron. I have been contemplating it for a while, but I decided while I had my machine out fixing the CQ blocks - why not make myself that apron.. so I did. It's only a waist apron (doesn't go around the neck).. I'ts very simple and done without a pattern.. I did manage to put some darts in it an a large pocket.. I have a feeling it's going to get a lot of wear. Jas has a birthday coming up - and I plan on making her a special one as a gift.

Well that's about it for now. I must direct you to my friend Meari's blog..she tells some of the funniest dating stories.. brings me back to my own dating days.. lol. ... thank God they are over!! Check her blog out at: Meari's Musings

So until next time.. much love and God bless!!

Ok - who's going to be first??

2009-04-19T21:49:00.001-07:00

Ok here's another giveaway... I have a stack of ~~old~~ vintage XS mags.. from the 80's and 90's.. they really are great mags with wonderful patterns, but I totally hoarded them and they aren't getting used.. Im going to randomly pull one for the first person to respond.. in fact.. I will pull TWO of them for the winner.. the winner will be the first person to respond to this post...because posts don't show up until I approve them - I will keep everyone in suspense wondering if they were first til the end of the day tomorrow.. then I will approve the posts and we will see who managed to comment first :-) Alright.. ready .. set.. leave a comment!!!!!

Busy Days and Nights

2009-04-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

If you read my blog regularly, you know I am busy busy.. so I won't go on and on about that.. I haven't blogged in a while it seems.. along with the usual hectic life I have - the hubby has been on a 2 week vacation from the refinery, and the trucking business was dead - so - he was home the whole time. I know I don't have to tell any of you that has a hubby that works a lot, what it's like when the normal routine is disrupted.. Don't get me wrong - I love having him home.. but there is something within me that makes me feel I must entertain him.. some of the things I normally do, don't get done - like blogging, email, etc.. because I am making use of the time he is home by spending it with him instead. He also is someone that can't sit still for long and doesn't have any inside hobbies.. so he heads outside, and it's an opportunity for us to both do things outside that need to be done.. He also likes to visit with friends and family - so we do a lot of packing up the family and heading out to "visit".. ALSO, along with Jas starting the 4th grade, the boys have started Pre-K, and you can imagine what my days look like.. we usually do "school" up to about 1p or 2p.. mixed in with meals and such.. It's been a lot of fun getting the boys started, they love the idea of being in "school".. and they are doing quite well. I have also been trying to get my bodyclock reset out of that late to bed and late to rise cycle.. so that means no burning midnight oil working on crafts... So that's what's up with me.. let me show you what has been going on in the meantime..

Well soccer was officially over on their last game April 4th. The boys are still sad that it's over.. everytime we go to the field for Jas to play baseball the boys get excited thinking we are going to soccer - and looking for their "coach"..and Jas is still busy with softball and dance - so she hasnt' had a chance to miss it yet. It was our first year doing soccer, and I have a feeling we will be doing it for a long time to come. Just as I suspected it would happen, at the end of the season is when they really seemed to start to understand the "objective".. The boys' coach was really awesome with such young kids, and we parents put together a little giftcard for dinner for he and his wife.. one mom even knew his mother in law and arranged a babysitter for his 5 kids so they can go to dinner alone. Here's coach and some of the "Heat" (the boy's team):

Eli kicking in the ball:

Eli striking a pose:

This little boy is the cutest.. those cheeks remind me of a campbell's soup kid. He seems to have some physical disabilities, but I tell you - he's quick as a whip, cute as can be, and gets right in there and runs with the rest of him. This game he kicked out a ball and saved us from the other team making a goal:

I can just hear Jay saying "Put me in coach!!":

Jay finally playing:

A couple of pics from Jas' game:

I haven't brought my camera to Jas' softball games yet, but plan to next week. She is doing VERY well at softball.. and last game she had a hit for every time she was up to plate (no strike outs) and was batted in to home at least once (twice last game) each game.. It was suprising considering she has not played since t-ball a couple years ago.

Next up - some pics of our new venture - gardens.. we have the 2 veggie gardens (one for just veggies and the other for cantelope, watermelon and gourds).. and a flower bed in front of my front porch.. not pictured is a small bed beside our shed that was there when we moved in - it has some Bird of paradise -and I added some seeds that I got in a swap - daisies and something else I can't remember right now - here is us getting it ready for seeds.. this was a great (and will be in the future) learning experience that will be part of our "school" this summer:

And here it is after I did the back-breaking labor of manually making rows with a hoe, planting seeds and tomato plants:

Veggie garden:

Watermelon, canteloupe, and gourds patch:

And my area for flowers in front (I planted a mixture of wild flowers):

I have really been getting into working outside - I know - shocking huh! In the above picture with Marcus and Jas you can see my vining rose next to the house getting choked out by the parasite tree that is growing beside it.. I haven't taken a picture, but I got out the hedge clippers and clipped all the small limbs, and the hubby got in and chopped the main part of the tree down.. hopefully with the pruning it will be bushy again like it was when I first moved here.

On our of our park playdates we made these birdfeeders.. you paint on peanut butter with a butter knife (being sure to get in the cracks and crevices).. roll them in bird seed... attach something to hang it up with.. hang it in the tree and wait for the birds to come. Here is what we saw the other day:

Here this finch and the cardinal eat the seeds together that they knocked off the pinecone:

I have said many times - I have done just about every craft known to man.. and it's not far from the truth.. so with the theme of getting outside - I took the tarp off my woodworking tools (yes MINE and NOT the hubby's):

And cut these out, painted them, and distressed them:

I still have some detailed painting to do on them (there are actually 5 hearts) and prepare them for display. The 2 crows will be plant stakes, and perhaps the hearts will be too.. we shall see.

I have also been plugging away at my jewelry:

I have been doing some work on a CQ block I showed a post or two ago, and I am nearly finished.. I will post a pic once I am done.. I am nearly to the beading stage which shouldn't take too long..

I have plenty to attend to.. but I am proud to say - I FINALLY CAUGHT UP MY LAUNDRY!!! Yeah!!!! I am now back to doing a load a day to keep it from piling up.. just like the Flylady taught me.. now if only I could get back to my other flylady guidelines! :-)

We have practice today along with dinner to cook - so I am going to run for now.. but until next time - much love and God bless.

Please forgive me!!

2009-04-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

Forgive me for being absent lately.. we've been so busy with sports and other various "goings on" that I haven't had time to blog.. and honestly - I could be doing something else right now.. BUT.. I decided to take a moment to get caught up with everyone..

I am pleased to announce that I sold 2 of my multi-strand sets!! They both went to the same person - Dottie :-). Thank you so much for your business Dottie!! More than the money I make, it is so rewarding to know that someone likes my creations enough to buy them.. however, I will take the money :-) Next i must get busy making more for a trunk show that I confirmed my involvement in.. it's going to be the first weekend in May. My mom is colaborating with me on it - so Im not feeling the pressure to fill 2 long tables up with my stuff... my mom has TONS so I will just put what I have in inventory and I can concentrate on making my multistrand pieces (I can make a set in a day's time).. We are doing it in the parking lot of the shop here in town where I put some of my things. The owner is super nice, not charging us anything, and also she is going to run an ad in the paper. I picked this weekend in particular because this is the weekend of the town flea market and often people come from the flea market to the shop. There is also another vendor there that sells his plants and shrubbery.

Anyway - all that said .. this week, I have not only neglected blogging, but haven't done much in the way of creating either.. I had started this:

Which is a tiny design on a quaker Christmas pattern I got from Penny. I decided to do something for myself - and naturally - didn't get far on it. I also, after talking to some of my cq buddies, decided to do a little CQ.. so I pulled out this CQ UFO that I have had in the drawer.. I just added the lace and did one more seam treatment:

If i have some time this evening I may pull it out and stitch a little tonight. It has really been refreshing to get back to doing a bit of CQ.. It reminds me of the importance of switching up mediums every now and again to keep from getting burned out.

Now, last week.. I was on a sewing kick.. Im not the best sane quilter.. and made a costly mistake on this wall hanging for my bedroom, but I hung it up anyway:

I decided to try to do something for my hubby and make our bedroom a hunter's/fisherman's paradise. So much of the house is "me" and so little is him.. so I decided to decorate the room he spends the most in to suit his tastes.. i also quickly sewed up this little pillow too:

I discovered Im a little rusty in the sewing department.. but with that out of the way, and a little sewing practice gained, I made this purse that I am VERY pleased with.. I decided to make something for myself .. I even beaded the closure.. here it is.. in my favorite color - PINK!

AS IF I need MORE to do, we have decided to do a veggie garden .. in addition to a wildflower bed in front of my house. We are hoping to be able to do it without pesticides.. here are some of the things we are planting: tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, watermelon, cilantro, chives, bell peppers, yellow squash, sweet banana peppers, cantaloupe, ornamental gourds, and sweet basil. We may add some greens to the list if it looks like we have enough room.. If it looks like this is something we will continue to do in the future, we will probably continue to add things to the list.. Its all apart of my dream of being able to be self-sufficient for food if need be. I would also like to eventually have chickens (for the eggs mainly) and rabbits (for the meat).. It really serves multiple purposes.. it helps reduce our grocery bill, makes us more selfsufficient, and its a learning experience for us all..i plan to get the kids involved to help out with the garden..

I also want to apologize for getting behind on my giveaways. I need to announce some winners:

Lavender and Lace Pattern: Mylene

P Buckley Moss pattern: "Fiber" (there was no name, but this is the blogger id of the person)

Please email me at cshortprudhomme@yahoo.com with your mailing info.

Well the weekend is upon us.. what's my schedule look like? Well, as soccer mom, I need to make 4 dozen cupcakes (2 for the boys team, and 2 for Jas' team) for the end of season celebration Saturday.. We have soccer games on Saturday along with some easter festivities going on at the hubby's job (which we will wait and see if we have the energy to go).. My mom's coming so we will probably be making some jewelry. We were also invited to a crawfish boil Sunday afternoon.. so more than likely no blogging for me until next week sometime - maybe LOL.. next post will be another giveaway.. stay tuned!!

Much love and God bless.

Look at my stash - and get some stash!!

2009-03-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

Well Sunday came and went and blogging was the last thing on my mind - REST was the first thing.. I had a crazy Saturday.. Jas and I got up at like 6am... left and drove to Lake Charles (40 minutes away) to put up her science fair project.. we sat for an hour while the judges looked at the projects without the students.. then the students had to sit by their projects for nearly 2 hours while the judges did interviews.. THEN .. we drove straight back home (another 40 minute drive) to Jas' soccer game.. directly after the game I went home to get the boys (b/c Marcus had to go to work) and drive straight back to Lake Charles again for the awards portion of the show and to take down our project.. I was sooooo tired.. I also forgot to mention I was up until 330am before I got up at 6am that morning.. I had some grand ideas for what to do Sunday, but most of them didn't happen..

Here's some of what I did since last post. The jewelry can be found for sale at very affordable prices at my online store here:

I am particularly proud of the following - I wire wrapped my own clasp (closure) and did the coils on the earrings:

Here is another wire wrapping project - this was so much fun to do.. I plan to do more of these in the future.. I found a tute online that demonstrated this design:

I also finished the stitching portion of what will become a needle book (hopefully sometime today) - this was stitched on hand-dyed fabric from Sapphire Stitching:

Ok so on to the stash!! I want to announce the winner of the Lavender and Lace Pattern - GABI!!! Seems like we are passing stash back and forth.. after an eeny-meeny-miney-mo, she won the last giveaway.. and my daughter got a great package in the mail from her!! She sent my daughter a nice letter - and ended up giving her most of what she got in a grab bag. Gabi is a very sweet and generous person :-) Jas was so excited.. we are going to start on the XS later today.. Check it out:

I also got my package from my partner in a spring swap on the sapphire stitching group.. I love it all.. she sent some totally cute spring kits.. I also got a totally cool postcard from Austrailia. Both she and Gabi are from Austrailia - so I got 2 packages from Austrailia in one day :-) ...another very talented and generous stitcher!!:

I also made a pit stop at Hancock fabrics on my crazy Saturday.. I picked up this great fat quarter stack.. I plan on making a simple baby quilt with it.. I thought the batiks would be perfect for a general neutral blanket.. my hubby's youngest brother and wife are now expecting their first baby - so I want to make my newest niece/nephew something from Auntie Courtney. I got some great iron on transfers to stitch lighthouses.. do you think that's too masculine - or do you think it would fit either sex? Tell me what you think.. meanwhile - here's the fabric:

Last but not least - another giveaway... here's the next pattern up for giveaway:

This is a really nice pattern.. but it's kinda big - and Im not likely to try it.. it's actually a hard pattern to find online.. I tried to find it.. anyway - that's what is up for grabs.. I plan on going thru my file boxes of leaflets and picking more items of stash to share.. and maybe even some non XS related stuff.

Well.. I have lots to do today.. I have some clothes ordered (some arrived and some not) for the summer.. so I am going thru my closet to collect items for donation.. any winter clothes not worn this season have to go.. and any summer stuff that I didn't wear last summer - gots to go.. the hubs closet needs to be thinned..he's seriously got stuff he has had that is from highschool.. I already snuck and threw a few really ugly sweaters away that were "still good sweaters" lol.. I am baking frozen lasagna today - so no major cooking.. which allows for some spring cleaning.. I am also getting a lesson on how to operate the riding lawn mower.. so I better get busy..

Until next time - much love and God bless.

I'm still here!!

2009-03-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you, as always, for taking your precious time to read my blog.. I know that as a rule I am pretty expressive about my opinions and how I feel about things - even if that editorial side of me has not been visible on my blog.. I stay tired (and busy) and I never really realized what I was getting us into when I allowed all the kids to play soccer, and Jas to do dance and softball too.. I honestly don't know how a family with 2 parents that work outside of the home manage to do it. Don't get me wrong - homeschooling and being a stay-at-home mom is work (honestly more than I ever did at an outside job), however, I do have some luxuries that a working mom doesn't.. for instance.. on Tuesdays we have dance AND softball practice.. so I generally don't do any organized schooling that day.. she does her bible reading.. and perhaps a worksheet - maybe not.. it allows us to do those things early in the day that we generally do in the evening..that way - we aren't up til 2am getting caught up.. also .. we have a regional science fair coming up.. so instead of a unit study - we are brushing up on our project and tweaking anythign that needs tweaked.. instead of doing regular school work all day, and doing the project all night.. some days we just don't feel like doing school so we don't.. it has been good for all of us.. the proof? Jasmine is heading into the summer doing 5th grade math.. she can name several different black leaders and their accomplishments.. she can read classic books, like Little Women, and have a good comprehension of what she reads.. she enjoys volunteer work..etc etc etc.. I am thankful we are blessed to be able to homeschool so we can be well rounded individuals with our eyes on God and our hearts in His will. If you don't see me being opinionated or talking on something controversial, know that I'm still me, just the tired, don't have time to blog about it, Courtney - homeschool, soccer, softball, dance mom :-) Did I mention I love every minute of it? Well I absolutely do.

While I am at it - ashamedly I must admit - I have watched the entire season of American Idol.. oh yes I have.. I don't know how it happened, but once I started watching.. I couldn't stop.. i even *gasp* text vote every week!! LOL What really upsets me is how it seems Scott McIntyre keeps getting passed thru - eventhough he doesn't quite cut the mustard with the rest of the group.. yes he is a good piano player - after research I have learned that he has rec'd many awards for his playing ability.. and his voice isn't bad.. but lets be honest - his voice (and choice of songs) reminds me of easy listening music.. and this is not America's Easy Listening Idol.. they want someone "now" "edgy" "hip".. as talented as he may be - Scott really doesn't fit those definitions.. I find it really strange that he is the only one that doesn't get any negative feedback from the judges.. well, not really strange, but obvious he is getting passed thru on pity - not his own merit. Again, he's talented in his own right - but we are to the point in the show when the singing talent of all the other contestants is far beyond his own.. I would be willing to bet (mark my words) that when Scott gets voted off - the judges will save him.. Another one I don't care for AT ALL - is the Prince and The Cure love child - Adam Lambert.. they judges go on, and on, and on about how talented he is.. and his wierd indian inspired rendition of Ring of Fire - wierd.. train wreck and you can't look away wierd.. I thought his performance last week was even worse - to which Paula practically kissed his bottom.. I could hear places where he is off key.. I have to agree with Simon this week - pure indulgent rubbish!! You know what I say to rubbish - good riddance to bad rubbish!! My fav is Matt Giraud.. and I voted for him again this week - and this week he did NOT disappoint.. unfortunately missed my female fav - Lil Rounds.

I can't wait to see what my 2 favs come up with for motown week!!

Enough with that.. I wanted to show these origami bags I have been making.. well I only took a pic of one.. they really are SO much fun to do.. and easy.. here's where I got my patterns (free) online:

http://www.quiltcetera.com/Tutorials/Tutorials/Origami-Instructions.html

http://mylittlemochi.typepad.com/my_little_mochi/2005/05/origami_pocket_.html

And here's my little bag.. it's perfect to carry a small stitching project in the car:

I also am considering doing a trunk show the weekend of April 4th. I have almost enough stuff between what my mom has of mine and stuff I have on cosignment at a local shop to have a decent show.. but I am trying to get things for spring put together to add to what I already have. Hence - more knotted thread jewelry.. I am really excited about this recent piece I did - it turned out great.. it's Czech glass and iridescent seed beads.. It is also at my online store here. I gave my store a facelift - so go check it out.. I plan on putting a few things on etsy soon too.. here's my recent creation:

Well I am working on a swap that needs to be mailed out Monday.. I want to work on more jewelry, but I want to get this swap off my list of "to do" and onto my "finished" list.. I have had a little break, so my stitching tonight will be fun.. find something good on tv.. brew some coffee - and get my needles smokin!! The hubby is working nights so I can burn the midnight oil all I want :-)

My laundry? Don't ask.. I seriously need to hire someone to tend to that... I just close my eyes when I pass by those piles of clean clothes.. sad.. sad.. I am a laundry procrastinator.. lol.. will I get to it tonight?? Care to make a small wager on that? LOL

Well.. it's been a crazy week.. 2 days of softball practice, 1 day of soccer practice, dance, 2 days of soccer games (had one tonight and another on Saturday), Regional Science Fair, .. etc.. needless to say - Sunday is lazy day for me - so I better hurry up and get my laundry done!!

Until next time (Sunday will be another giveaway and giveaway winner annoucement).. much love and God bless..

So much to talk about.. Another giveaway winner and ANOTHER giveaway

2009-03-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

I've been busy as usual this week.. soccer, dance, softball, charity projects, household goings on.. Where to start...

Oh I got the best package in the mail.. my partner in a "spring fling" swap sent me a big box.. this swap was to be a freebie pattern and the floss to complete it.. of course my partner Suzzanne went above and beyond expectations of course :-) I was so excited to open it.. here it is before I tore into it:

And here is what it looked like after I opened it.. she used the watering pitcher like an easter basket:

This was really a great swap, and it renewed my faith in stash swaps - where I had burned so many times in the past (except for a great stash swapper from artist trading supplies).. I wanted to ask my partner - how did she know I needed XS needles? Crafty ESP perhaps?

Next, I worked on some custom jewelry orders this week.. I am nearly finished.. I had trouble finding some special beads I needed.. so I have 2 necklaces that are awaiting beads in the mail.. here's what I DID finish:

I also finished my first sampler for the fallen soldier SSG William Manuel. I am excited to have one down and one more to go for this family. I have a few other obligations to complete before I start the second sampler:

Im also nearly finished with my last swap I signed up for.. here's my WIP:

I also played with some paper this weekend.. but didn't take pictures.. I made some easter cards.. they didn't seem picture worthy for me.. I haven't made a lot of cards lately so I need some practice.. I also thought of some of the supplies I gave away that could've been used.. oh well..

I have a new giveaway winner!!! *drumroll* Ann!! Email me Ann so I can get your info to mail your prize:

I have another winner giveaway to put up as well.. to enter just leave a comment ON THIS POST.. Here is the prize.. it's a Lavender and Lace pattern:

I will post the winner on my next post...

Lots to do and so little time.. lol.. until next time.. much love and God bless.

One armed paper hanger...

2009-03-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

It seems I am the proverbial one armed paper hanger again.. as I warned Jas, we now have softball running into soccer. We went to tryouts on Sunday (they all make the team, but get assessed for skill level to make sure the teams are equal on skill) - and I got a call yesterday that we have softball practice tonight at 6pm.. we also have dance today at 330p.. then tomorrow all my kids have soccer practice and pictures being taken of the teams.. Thursday evening there is a lecture about classical homeschooling that I want to attend (that's pencilled in).. Friday we have homeschool bowling (not sure we will make it to that) and the luncheon at the Senior Center that I really want to make it to... I hope to get to go so Jas can help out with that as well. So you see what I mean :-) Busy Busy.. we won't be slowing down until the summer gets here .. there aren't many outside activities going on around town during the summer.. but we are crossing our fingers we might get a summer soccer league.. and I talked to Marcus about cleaning our pool up and preparing it for the summer usage.. AND.. I want to do some gardening that I am now researching.. I have plans for a prayer flower garden .. and a veggie garden as well.. perhaps we won't be slowing down :-)

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to Joan at Sapphire Stitching. She sent me this wonderful RAK after seeing what I had written about the Fallen Soldier Sampler I am working on.

I must say I so appreciate her thought, and I do it in hopes of doing my part to honor those who have given their lives for their country - not for any pats on the back it might give me. But it's so sweet of her to do such a thing. Joan has an excellent website (http://www.sapphirestitching.com) with such pretty stitching fabbie - I ~~covet~~ have some in my stash that I adore and have quite a hard time making myself stitch on it :-) She also just listed some old stitching mags at very inexpensive prices.. if I wasn't hoarding a large stash of mags myself I would go buy some :-)

I also got some great charms on etsy.. I really recommend buying supplies there as well as wonderful handmade stuff. You are not only getting great prices, but supporting people with small home businesses.. double bonus! Here they are:

From: http://www.lululalaland.etsy.com

I also got some pretty turquoise colored seed beads as a freebie with my order.. they ship super quick and their product is well made an inexpensive.. they have pages and pages of great products including lots of charms that stitchers love to use.. in addition to jewelry makers and much more..

From: http://www.originalfindings.etsy.com

The shipping on these was fast.. the project is great quality.. and inexpensive as well. The detail on these fleur de lis are exquisit. I am very pleased and would shop with both of these sellers over and over again.

I got a Lavender and Lace pattern that I will probably never use.. so I traded it for a quaker pattern.. turns out it was one I had been wanting to try for a while now after seeing someone else's work on it.. this is a great large piece or good to break up into smaller projects:

Lastly (before I run out of time), I altered that pink and brown set I showed you last time.. I like it better now.. here it is in addition to a wooden and seed pod set I also made:

You already know my running schedule today - but I am working on the wording on my fallen soldier sampler - perhaps to be finished today - then back to my Easter Gingham sampler on the hand-dyed fabric.. next post I will have another giveaway..

And the winner is.......drumroll

2009-03-08T07:23:00.001-07:00

The winner of my first giveaway of the XS kit is........*drumroll*.......Rene La Frog!! Congrats Rene..

Next I will show the next giveaway offering I have:

I ended up with 2 of these.. so why keep the duplicate? I ask that you leave a comment on this post and with my next post I will announce the winner..

Next - jewelry.. I made another knotted thread set.. which will probably show up in my online store and perhaps be droppped off at a local shop where I bring some of my pieces. I like how it turned out.. although I am considering altering that long strand to be the shorter of the 2.. and maybe shortening the earrings a bit:

My nieces-in-law (lol) were over here yesterday (and today) and after seeing how they liked my jewelry.. I made them some similar pieces with the beads set aside for kids to use (mostly acrylic/plastic) and my cheap craft thread that I never use.. That way when they lose them or break them in a day, it's no big loss. I did that in addition to bbq'ing for my hubby on his bday. I made a banana cream pie for him the night before.. then after the soccer game I sat with my container of beads while I bbq'ed in my carport on my electric grill..I did steaks for the hubs and chicken for the kids.. anyway.. here's one of the necklaces for the girls:

I also got a good start on the Easter Gingham pattern for a swap on Sapphire Stitching.. I think this will end up as a needlebook:

Last and CERTAINLY NOT least .. I received the most AWESOME bookmark from Rene !! It's for the bookmark swap on ILCS... It's got some cool drawn thread on it (a technique that I am in awe of but never tried).. her stitches are so tiny, and so perfect! This is certainly my new favorite.. She was kind enough to be my stitching angel- and I really appreciate her! Be sure to check out her blog (linked above and also in my blogroll):

Today's agenda - keep all these kids (I have 6 here right now if you add my SIL's kids plus mine) out of trouble.. go to softball tryouts for Jas.. and look to see what my coming week has in store.. I plan on doing more knotted jewelry and finish up a XS project or two this week.. Until next time - MUCH love and God bless!!

Thank God for my laundry??

2009-03-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

I'll get to the laundry in a minute..

No you are not seeing things.. and NO I am not battling multiple personalities.. I just love changing my background on my blog.. Izzie Grace has some really cute backgrounds.. and now I can change them without losing (or having to copy and paste) all my widgets.. so I have the freedom and the time to change them regularly... Don't be suprised if you come back and it looks different.. So on with the post....

I took another pic of my boys in the recliner the other night - after my last post.. and got an even cuter picture of them:

Drumroll please!! I have another finish.. I finally finished my green biscornu.. I also discovered that I have this aversion to finishing projects.. I go full steam ahead until the home stretch.. and then avoid the project.. even when it's only a tiny finish.. it took me 2 days before I finished the last 2 sides of the biscornu and stuffed it... I passed by it several times.. looked at it.. and kept on going.. Is it not wanting the project to be done.. knowing it's over when it's finished.. I dunno.. perhaps I will explore this further ;-)

In honor of black history month I will be changing my graphic at the top of my page each week to a different important historical figure in not only black history -but world history as far as I am concerned.. We are covering mainly black history in home school this month .. 90% of our school work will be black history related. Here is what our notebook dedicated to black history looks like on the outside.. I designed it with the graphics I found online:

I have different books we purchased last summer when we went to the African American Heritage Museum in Birmingham, AL and the Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH. Some of the books have activities and coloring pages that we are going to complete. I also plan on having Jas notebook what we read... We are also going to finish watching the movie Roots:

We had started it earlier in the year and never got back to it.. I think we will start at the beginning and complete it by watching one of the four parts each week. I also have some craft projects that have planned and I will be sure to post pictures. And we are going to complete a great book a good friend gave us:

I already printed some great cards that celebrate black history month that Jas is going to give to a few friends and family.

So that's what's up.. other than that.. Jas and I will be getting her ready for Softball tryouts on Sunday, and also practicing for Saturday's soccer games.. I have a few projects that need to be finished (see my WIP section in the sidebar).. and the bottomless laundry basket is always requiring attention.. *sigh*.. but thinking on the upside.. (taking a page from my homeschool buddy Amanda's book) - at least I have a laundry basket, with clothes, in a house, with a family to take care of .. some people aren't as blessed. So on that note - thank you Lord for my dirty laundry..

Last but not least.. I am posting 1 of 4 giveaways I will be having.. one each week.. here is this week's offering:

This is a complete kit with thread, fabric, and pattern. If you don't like the pattern, well.. just use the fabbie for something else :-) Everyone that comments will get their name put in a hat.. I will announce the winner on my next post.

Until next time.. much love and God bless.

Better Late than Never!

2009-03-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

It seems I'm a bit late for my scheduled Sunday posting.. I was being lazy yesterday, so I figured I would get to it when I got to it :-) I really should be doing something else right now, but we all know I am not one to follow the rules :-)

We had a great day today.. we went with a lady from our homeschool group (and some of her family and church members) to my local retirement center for a monthly bday celebration they had been doing. I made each of the birthday boys and girls a wheelchair bag..So I found a manageable way to make sure that during the course of the year - each resident will have one.. rather than trying to come up with 100 at a time.. I brought Jas along to help and learn about charity work - and the boys came as the entertainment :-) The elderly always enjoy visits from the little ones.. The boys got to sing happy birthday and deliver the gifts.. and then were rewarded with their much coveted ice cream and cake... I didn't bring my camera, but I will next time to get a picture or two.

Saturday we had our first soccer games.. I was so hoarse afterward from all the yelling ;-) The kids did wonderful.. and the 3 and 4 yr old game was hillarious.. they had fun though.. so that's what's important.. here's some short minute or so highlights from the games:

I don't like how fuzzy you tube makes the video, but at least it gets them in a viewable format for our friends.. BTW - Jas' team is called the Dribblers, and the boys are on the Heat.... so in the clip where I asked Jay "what he was bringing" he said "heat" lol..

Oh yeah - I made earrings for that necklace set I showed recently.. here they are all together:

And here is the green biscornu for swapbot almost finished.. It's almost completely assembled and ready to stuff.. Lord remind me not to do a biscornu on 18 ct fabric!! Talk about the biggest pain in my rump.. It seems like I am never going to be done with it.. the hardest part is the assembly on such small squares..sheesh!! I beaded this one a bit as you can see:

It's been crazy busy around here..soccer practices (double practices since they were trying to get in as many as they could before the first game) etc... so I haven't gotten much else done.. and it seems I have a laundry basket that is never empty of dirty clothes.. I keep washign and washing and still there is a load in the basket!! So now I have Mt Washmore of clean clothes in tubs in my bedroom waiting to be folded.. I keep saying when all is clean I will fold, but it seems I will never make it there.. and the clean laundry mountain is getting higher and higher.

On a positive note - my promoter - my MIL - took some jewelry mom and I had made for her over the years to our local bank to show the ladies she knows there.. and managed to get me $150 worth of orders :-) It's 3 necklaces, 2 bracelets, and a watch...so it's not huge.. and no rush on them.. but they are simply strung, so easy peasy.. I plan on making my MIL a set of some kind to thank her for her help in getting orders. Tomorrow I will be going grocery shopping (by myself - YEA!!) and also stopping by hobby lobby to get some supplies to fill my orders..I also have a swap I have to buy floss for.. I might stop by Hancock fabric to see if their jewelry suppy is on sale this week..

This week we have soccer, dance, and MAYBE Monster Truck Show to celebrate my hubby's bday on SAturday. Until next time - Much love and God bless..

P.S. I also wanted to say - Like father, like son(s):

Real quick...

2009-02-25T22:18:00.000-08:00

Well I had to jump in with a short post.. first to say.. I have been growing out my hair.. from an inverted bob (long in the front and gradually shorter as you go towards the back).. I am attempting to grow it long like it used to be (not quite to my waist, but below my shoulder blades)... I haven't gotten a cut since.. the summer I think? Well.. I decided to go to a local shop.. I asked her if I needed a bit more layers since I was growing it out.. and what I ended up with? Well the best thing I can say about it is I like my bangs.. I know I am very picky and perhaps it will grow on me, but right now - I am not pleased.. I don't plan on posting any ugly pics of it either lol I'm just frustrated that I can never seem to convey what I want, or they don't carry out what I ask for.. that is why I go so long in between haircuts.. I guess it will be another 6 months before I get another cut :-(

Now for the main reason for an extra post.. I finished my 5 strand necklace and I am VERY pleased with how it turned out..and very excited to show it off.. these light necklaces will be great in a spring/summer wardrobe. I have lots of different colors of cording to use.. I plan on doing another set with pearls very soon:

I also promised a giveaway.. it will be coming on Sunday :-)

I just kitted up my swaps coming up.. so I am ready to get started.. I also added everything I have kitted up to my WIP section in the right column.. feel free to see what I have in the works.

Much love and God bless.

Not a finish, but a good portion down!!

2009-02-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

Last week was totally crazy.. with three soccer practices ... dance class.. Science Fair project... Mardi Gras.. I declared Monday as my day to go no where.. and do nothing.. well not nothing, but major cleaning.. and mostly time for me to stitch or whatever I wanted to do.. I got a lot of work done on my fallen soldier sampler.. and now I am done with the design portion, and it is ready for the text portion.. here's what I finished.. it's about 6"H x 4"W:

My mom was here, so of course we worked on jewelry. She got this beading cord that is knotted and put together in strands.. this is my first and it is a very easy technique and the finished product looks great. It is inexpensive to make because of the strands not being full strands of beads.. When I take Jas to soccer practice today I plan on working on a few more strands. I will probably do 5 strands for this necklace:

What am I working on?? Well I have a swap to put together.. it's a swap of a easter themed pattern and the floss to complete it.. I also have a stitched project for the sapphire stitching group to make - which is going to be one of the mini easter sampler patterns I have.. THEN there is a green biscornu swap on swapbot...and I am going to try to finish up my top secret project for my friend.. Im going to do a little more jewelry making.. and I plan to make *GASP* myself a purse!! I know it's hard to believe, but I know I must advertise my own creations.. I always have people asking me if what I am wearing is something I personally made, and usually the answer is No.. crazy I know.. I am going to start changing that..

Well, I need to go do a little spirit groove.. here's a sample ( you can get the full version on beyou.tv)

Then off to yet another soccer practice.. we just found out that baseball (softball) signups are coming up soon - and Jas wants to play... so we will end soccer and start right back up with softball.. the boys aren't old enough yet, so I will only have one practice to take her to. Im just happy Jas is getting into sports activities and getting some outside time..

Next post I am having a few giveaways.. so be sure to stay tuned!!

Much love and God bless.

Weary and Windblown...

2009-02-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

Wondering what I have for you on this lovely Sunday? Let me first say you are lucky that I am posting today as I spent several hours outside, in the wind and sun waiting for a Mardi Gras ..I haven't been to a Mardi Gras parade in ages.. the excitement of catching a bag full of plastic beads wears off after a couple years of living here. But my kids love it, so as with many things a mother does - I take them because they enjoy it. Here they are practicing "Throw me something mister!!" to get beads once the parade starts:

They had a good time and we are all beat from all the standing around and waiting.

I finished a commissioned job a couple days ago - a valentine themed purse. I thought it turned out great. I also did something different - I used quilt batting in it .. I am pleased with it and hope the recipient will be too:

I also did a wheelchair bag for a friend's mom that is in a nursing home.. I machine embroidered the seams on the patchwork.. I also loaded it up with peppermints and trial sized lotion - I hope she will like it:

Some of you know of our Homeschool Science Fair we were preparing for.. we had it, and Jasmine got first place in Animal Sciences!! She is now going to regionals that includes other homeschool and non-homeschool students.. I am looking forward to it. It is in a month so we have a bit of time to tweak anything that needs tweaking.. I am so proud of Jas:

Mom came this weekend for the Mardi Gras holiday... so she taught me a new technique to do necklaces - so I should be unveiling a finished piece on Wednesday.. it is going to be perfect for Spring and Summer fashions.. I also have been working on my top secret project and the fallen soldier project.. it won't be long before the ribbon is done and it's ready to personalize.. Im too tired to take a pic tonight - so on Wednesday I should have something more..

Im about to crash - until next time - Much love and God bless.

Ok, I admit it, I'm a weirdo :-)

2009-02-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

There has been this commercial that NEVER fails to make me giggle when it comes on.. no matter how many times I have seen it.. I knew someone would post it on You Tube - and I was right.. play it here to see.. and my favorite line is "Your son Ripp is on line toot" LOL (I laughed just typing that line lol)

I also wanted to make a side note that I have a second blog.. its merely a duplicate of this one.. it contains all the same posts. It's on multiply at: http://mommasgoodies.multiply.com I created it b/c I have some stitchy friends that have multiply blogs and I can't comment unless I have one myself... and it has a neat feature where I can crosspost from there to here.. so my multiply friends can see me there too.. or you ..or anyone else :-) Especially if, like Kai, you are having trouble viewing this blog - it gives you a second opportunity to view the content here if you are unable to view it on blogger or to comment on blogger..

Anyway - I just forgot to add this to the last post so I thought I would share my weird humor with you :-)

Sherlock Holmes?

2009-02-18T05:12:00.000-08:00

Some of us have heard of Sherlock Holmes... the famous detective.. looking for clues.. I have a sweet friend that I am making something for that is top secret.. and I thought I would give HER a clue as to what it is.. and here's the clue:

Ok maybe it isn't a huge clue, but it's a clue just the same :-)

I also did get some progress done on my hero sampler.. It's coming along nicely and I think It won't take as long to get done as I had originally anticipated. I'm doing 2 for this particular family - but they will be 2 different designs..

All week we have been working on our science project for the Homeschool Science Fair.. we are nearly done. Jas has to color a few more fossils to decorate the board, and later today we will be making some fossils with salt dough to accompany the display board. She has done a wonderful job and my main help has been with the design, but she had done all the writing herself. It's been mainly getting facts off the internet which she has written and we pasted on the board.. so she has learned to research, done some reading, practiced her handwriting, and learned some science about the fossils. I asked her to tell me what she has learned and she really blew me away with what she could remember.. it's amazing how much more they retain when they are doing something fun:

Well we've been to one soccer practice and for Jas and so far so good.. they will only have 4 games, but it seems there may be a summer league.. so they should enjoy that.. the boy's practice is tomorrow.. so I will post all the pics of their first practice at one time on my Sunday post.

Before I go I want to share with you what I have struggled trying to find some exercise videos that are fun and that I can do on a regular basis without getting bored.. I happened upon a wonderful blessing named Misty Tripoli. She is an aerobics instructor with her own way of doing things.. there is a lot of freestyling going on and not so much difficult choreography. I did her "Spirit Groove" for the first time yesterday and had so much fun.. it's done to live drums and has an african flavor to it.. I got to see it for free (with advertisements between segments) at be you tv.. here's the addy: http://www.beyou.tv/videos/Body-Groove-Spirit-Groove I plan on purchasing the download very soon so I can watch full screen without interuption.. I really wish there were more like Misty - there would certainly be a lot more people exercising!

That's it for now - until Sunday - much love and God bless.

Valentine bookmark finish!

2009-02-14T20:46:00.000-08:00

I finished this for my daughter for Valentine's day.. I did it on vinyl weave so that it stands up to being roughly handled..this is a bookmark - something she has been wanting recently with all her book reading..

The pattern for the ballet slippers came from a mini leaflet I had by the American Needlework something-or-other.. the letters and heart from a Donna Kooler alphabet booklet..

I also got some more work done on my top secret project.. it's about 2/3 of the way done.. the recipient knows she is getting something, but knows not what (not even the medium).. the suspense is killing her - so I hope to have it done soon.. once she receives it I will post it on my blog.. I also kitted up my first Fallen Solider Sampler - I agreed to do two.. so this is one of two.. I also surged the edges of the fabric, so now I am finally ready to get started. Perhaps on my Wednesday update I will have so progress to post.

I'm not feeling real chatty at the moment, so I will go for now.. but here is a pic of daddy and Eli reading the truck papers..they always want to do everything he does:

Much love and God bless.

Another Wonderfully Blessed Wednesday

2009-02-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: I want to apologize for the pictures in this post - they are all from my camera phone as my regular camera batteries are dead right now..

Well I am a couple days late posting.. due in part to major grocery shopping and going to an interactive performance of a Harlem Dance Company on Monday, dance today, and just being tired and sore (apparently I have pulled a muscle in my shoulder or pinched a nerve).. but I have been getting some great packages and getting some things done..

First - overdue are some pics of the boys - their first time on roller skates at a roller skating playdate at a local roller skating rink.. they did quite well.. you can see they had a bit of help from Daddy:

At the same skating rink - here's Jas and her best friend M:

And here's the boys and their best friend (according to my boys) H:

In homeschool we had the WONDERFUL opportunity to view an "interactive" performance of the Harlem Theater of Dance.. it was really a great opportunity to understand dance moves, how they are performed, and see a few excerpts of various ballets. We saw some buff bodies too :-) They are on tour for the next 8 wks I think they said - so if you have a chance to see them - DEFINATELY do see them..I only had my camera phone - so these sorry photos are all I got:

I got my order from 123 Stitch - mentioned in a previous post and I am going to start working on my hero's sampler tomorrow. I also got some great mail.. my dear friend Kai sent me a wonderful package for valentines day.. she really is the sweetest:

I also got my Lizzy Kate swap item from Pirjo.. it's a cute little pillow:

Here's some mail that will leave my mailbox tomorrow.. some little valentines for a few friends - I wish I had time to make one for all my friends:

I will show one of the items I quickly stitched up.. this is the only one that made it into a card.. the rest of the motifs ended up as bookmarks:

Now with another task down I decided to pick up another (yes I am glutton for punishment), but certainly a worthy task. I got an email that had a challenge to homeschoolers to make valentines for people in retirement homes.. I decided we could do that.. and I hope that it will be one in the long line of charitable things my kids can take part in. I bought this:

I got enough Valentines for the entire group of residents ( I just happen to know roughly how many ppl there are). I also got a bunch of sugar free hard candy. I figure tomorrow we will sit down and make out the valentines signed "Jesus loves you!" and tape a piece of hard candy to the Valentine. I am so excited to think of how the kids Valentines might brighten someone's day and show my daughter how satisfying volunteer and charity can be.. I'm not certain if we will be hand-delivering them or not yet.. I will be sure to blog about it if we do..

So right now I am tired and sore.. and ready to plop down in the recliner.. maybe stitch a little before bed.. I have a secret project that I am working on for someone that reads my blog often - so it's not safe to share yet.. but you will see it soon enough. and Hopefully by Sunday I will have a decent amount of stitching to show off :-)

Until Next time, much love and God bless.

A wonderful wednesday!!!!!!!

2009-02-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend Meari nominated me for this award. She is equally as sweet and deserving of the award. She has been a great listener when I needed someone to talk to. I was blessed that someone would think of me or my blog in this way.. it never started out as anything I thought would be read by anyone but me, however it seems it has been, and even enjoyed at times - and that warms my heart. I have met so many kind, generous, lovely women thru my craft groups and like my friend Kai said, I would call some of them some of my closest friends. As a homeschool and SAH mom, I am often isolated and don't get much socialization with adults - that is what my groups and online friends do for me.. provide me the much needed outlet, and I love them all for it..

Now is my turn to nominate 4 people:

Regina-she was one of my very first internet friends. She showed me how
generous and kind people can be - they aren't all bad. She is
truly a superwoman!
Leigh-this is another sweet and generous crafter. I love
her blogging companion Bentley who is always
getting into trouble :-)
Mylene-this is a new crafty friend of mine. She is a fellow fillipino and
is quite talented. I enjoy not only reading about her crafts and
family, but the beautiful dog they lovingly take care of for a
friend.
Judi A-Judi and I go way back to my cloth doll making days (that's WAY
back a couple years ago). She is always so positive and uplifting.
She is truly multitalented - from making cloth dolls to milking cows

These are just 4 of the many, many love-sharing, beautiful, talented ladies I have met online. I invite you to check out my blog roll, and the ladies that comment on my posts and prepare yourself to feel the love, and see the wonderful eye candy as well!!

Ok so I give up the stash embargo.. and it's only February..lol.. I have decided that rather than set an impossible goal of buying nothing in 2009 - I will agree to just be smarter about my purchases.. not so compulsive. I did buy a few patterns from 123 stitch yesterday - but with a particular project in mind. I joined a group that stitches a memorial sampler for fallen soldiers called American Soldier Memorial. Patriotic designs aren't something I stitch on a regular basis - so I need a couple different leaflets to choose from. I went with a couple that were suggested by the group:

I already got my first hero to stitch for:

SSG William Francis Manuel

Age: 34
Hometown: Kinder, LA
Date of Death: 1/10/2005
Incident Location: Baghdad

Branch of Military: Army
Rank: Staff Sgt.
Unit: 3rd Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade
Unit's Base: Lake Charles, La.

Days before leaving for Iraq, Bill Manuel told his wife he didn't think he'd make a safe return. "It was like he knew," Nicole Manuel said. "But he was the kind of man, even if he knew it was dangerous, he did what he had to do. He was going to get the job done." Manuel, 34, of Kinder, La., was killed Jan. 10 when an explosive hit his vehicle in Baghdad. He was based in Lake Charles, La. Manuel graduated from McNeese State University, where he majored in criminal justice. In civilian life, he was a manager at a casino. He had divorced his wife before marrying her again a year ago, and is also survived by a stepson. Anthony Manuel said his younger brother was "kind of quiet, but he made a good impression on you. ... He loved the outdoors, loved hunting and fishing." "He was very much a leader, and he took people in," said friend and co-worker Michelle Vidrine. "He took care of people." Younger soldiers jokingly referred to him as "the old man," said his friend, Beth Cook, adding that Manuel "proudly flew his LSU flag on his Bradley."

I am so pleased to be a part of this project and to do this for the family of William Manuel, a REAL american hero. I am trying to concentrate my efforts on my home state of Louisiana, and in particular my local area. This family actually lives in the same town as my family - although we don't know them personally.

I would personally like to invite each and everyone of you to become a part of this awesome project - even if you only do 1 sampler - that's one more family that receives the blessing of a memorial of their beloved family member. You can pick your pattern and it can be as simple or ornate as you like. I hyperlinked the group above so you can join in!!

I did order one more pattern. My style of decor is throughout the house, with not much speaking about my hubby. So I decided to decorate our bedroom in things he likes.. I have seen a really cute cammo pattern bed in a bag that I want to get.. and I ordered this pattern themed in the same direction:

He likes motorcycles too - but I felt this theme flowed better with my country/rustic decor than a motorcycle room would. I can't wait to start redecorating - and can't wait to tell hubby about my plans.

I am also very pleased to announce that I have finally finished my oldest UFO (unfinished object)!!!!!!!! This UFO was a project I started for my mother-in-law before she actually was my MIL.. so technically the UFO is older than my marriage! LOL I decided last week to pull it out and work on finishing it. Surprisingly it went together quicker than I thought - so I can't believe I procrastinated finishing it for so long. I decided to give it to her for Mother's Day this year - I just haven't figured out how to finish it off.. pillow, wall-hanging, framed.. I don't know yet.. but without further ado.. here it is:

In honor of finishing this UFO, I am having a giveaway of this pattern. I really don't forsee wanting to make it again.. I rarely do the same pattern twice. I did highlight (only yellow) a bit on it, but it's got much more life left in it.. so leave a comment on this post and I will draw a name on Saturday and announce it on Sunday.

I also did a bit of jewelry making last night.. there are a couple of older (not elderly, but my mom's generation) ladies that work with my husband at the refinery. I found out yesterday that they climb around on towers and do all the same things the men do - one of them even had a knee replacement.. I really am in awe of them. Both are super sweet ladies - and even though hubby has a great mom, they are like mother-figures to him.. I hear a lot about them and have met both of them a couple times. I decided to make a little something for each of them as a Valentines day gift - I told the hubby to tell them to wear it on their hot valentines dates with their hubbies - but he refused to say that lol.. he did give it to them this morning and both were pleased, and so was I because they are so deserving of that and so much more.. one of the ladies is an AMAZING painter and I hope to take lessons from her one day..

Last on my list, but certainly not least, my kiddos.. they have officially made me a soccer mom!! I signed them up yesterday (all three of them) to play soccer.. I couldn't believe they took 3 yr olds, but they do, and I know the boys will LOVE being in sports. I was disappointed earlier this month to find out our local youth league would not allow homeschool students to play youth basketball because it's in the elementary school gym - which I find suspect since one of the coaches homeschools his children and they play. We plan on following this up with the Homeschool Legal Defense Association to see if there is anything we can do about it in the future.. but until then - we are playing soccer!! So you will be seeing pictures and videos related to our playing soccer.. we are excited for the boys.. I know this is our first year in a long line of many sports the kids will be involved in.. I think I am just as excited as they are- and won't they all look cute in their soccer uniforms!! So I will likely have 2 more days of running to practice, in addition to Jasmine's dance class.. I will be putting my stitching travel tote to good use :-)

Well that's it for now.. I am going to try to blog Wednesdays and Sundays only - to free me up for more stitching and other things that need more time.. until Sunday - much love and God bless.

Another finish and breaking my embargo

2009-01-28T18:59:00.000-08:00

Oh I finally finished another biscornu .. it's my second ever.. and is for a valentine swap on swap-bot.. I like how it turned out.. the pattern is called Basket of Hearts, but I dont know who the creator of the pattern is.. the acrylic heart button is one I got while on a trip to Texas.. So another successful biscornu down.. and another swap package to go out..

I am ashamed to say - I broke my own embargo!! I have to say though - I didn't mean to.. but I am in such a habit of stopping by Hancock fabrics when I am in town, that I had gone in , picked up a few sale items and came out to the car before I remembered said embargo.. and I couldn't very well take it back!!! :-) But I promise to do my best to be good on the embargo after this:

I found these great unfinished wooden bangles half off.. I want to do something creative with them for my jewelry store -

I have never seem prim patterns like this by Aunt Martha - so I had to have them:

Here is more swap items I just finished.. the XS bookmark is part of the swap - the beaded one I made is an extra that I threw in:

I am pleased to have another commitment finished. I have one more swap, but I think I am going to pick up a UFO and do a little work on it first..

Before I go.. my boys have been running all day.. this is what happens when they run out of gas:

Until next time, much love and God bless.

A day of floss organization

2009-01-21T21:16:00.000-08:00

I was inspired to get into my floss stash and organize.. it not only gets things neat and tidy, but for some weird reason it helps me to relax and then focus on a project when I am done.. there was some conversation on ILCS about how to store floss.. I got a bunch when walmart had DMC on clearance.. and couldn't imagine winding it all.. so I labeled bags with numbers "200" for numbers between 200 and 299.. etc. But when I would go to kit up I would take a long time searching thru each bag for numbers.. especially when you had a baggie with a lot of duplicates.I decided to do the bobbins because of the way they fit in the boxes, and I like using the metal ring to hold threads together for a kitted project..

So I dedicated a whole day to winding and organizing.. and this is what I came up with:

As you can see.. I made labels for the top (and covered with packing tape to keep in securely fastened.

Here is what they look like all lined up and numbered:

Here is my silk ribbons (not including my white, undyed ribbon I keep in a separate box).. I organized them by color so I can get a better idea of what my inventory looks like:

The following container used to house the floss, but now that it was empty - I moved my crazy quilting supplies into it:

All my boxes I get from the fishing section at walmart.. they have some really neat boxes to house your supplies.. you can buy the same thing in the craft section (only difference is the fishing stuff has fishing supplier's names on the boxes) for twice the price (sometimes more than that). I have a small tacklebox that I use around the house (and in the car) to have what I immediately need at my finger tips.. I usually keep a few patterns kitted up, along with my embroidery scissors, assorted needles on a piece of felt, seam ripper (for those nasty froggies), and highlighter to mark my patterns.. I think I paid about $4 for that tacklebox.. I love it.. Maybe I need to decorate it with some stickers to be more girly :-)

Anyway - just wanted to share my floss organization with you..

So far so good on swapbot - and a little gifty :-)

2009-01-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

I got this lovely package thru a swap on swap-bot .. the Valentine Biscornu swap. My sending partner was really early - I haven't even started stitching on mine yet (although it is next in line). She was so sweet and sent not just my biscornu, but a nice note, 2 skeins of embroidery thread, a great piece of red aida, and cute little cross stitch hangers. This was my first receipt from a swap on swap-bot in at least a year or two.. I was very pleased. The biscornu itself is just beautiful - her stitching impecable, and I love her choice of beads (and charm) that she added.

Next is - guess what - ANOTHER FINISH FOR 2009!!!!!!! I am becoming a serial finisher :-) I made this for a friend's mom who is battling cancer (non-breast type) - I heard thru my friend what she had been going thru and was moved to send her a little something to know that my prayers go out to her. I hope she enjoys it:

We have a busy week ahead with the inaguration (and related activities in homeschool), dance, swaps to work on etc.. until Next time - much love and God bless.

New finish

2009-01-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

I hope I am starting a trend of starting and finishing projects.. I finished a swap item for swap-bot. This is one of my first swaps on swap-bot in a couple years. I had been burned a couple times, so I decided to stop swapping. I decided to give swap-bot another chance and try again.. so I signed up for a Lizzy Kate Valentine swap. I finished it as a hanging pillow. I also added some matching seed beads that were not called for on the pattern, but that I felt jazzed it up.

I am very pleased with how it turned out.. I hope my partner likes it as well .. I will be mailing it off to her next week.

I have a busy weekend planned of shopping for bunk beds for the boys, and a short trip to Texas on Sunday to visit my hubby's family. I, naturally, plan on bringing some sort of stitching project to work on on the way there. So I probably won't be blogging, this will count as my sunday blog :-)

Until next time, much love and God bless.

Pay it Forward.. and a bit of an update ..

2009-01-11T16:26:00.001-08:00

Ok, first things first.. I won a Pay-it-Forward after signing up on several blogs.. now I must "return the favor".. so here is how the PIF works on my blog:

If you would like to receive something made by me within the next 365 days, please comment on this post to say that you are interested. I will send a handmade gift to 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week... LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, I promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog (or - in your life - if you happen to be blog-less). I will take 3 people...and if there are more than 3, then I will do a drawing. In return, you must offer to do the same :)I will be taking sign ups until Next Sunday January 18th..I will announce the winner on that day..

What's a PIF? It stands for Pass It Forward or Pay It Forward, meaning pass forward a bit of kindness to make the world a better place.

NEXT - Here's a bit of what I am working on.. besides finishing up the binding on a quilted wall-hanging for a RR.. I started on a Lizzy Kate pattern for a valentine swap on swap bot.. here's the pattern I am doing:

Here's my progress so far:

Also, I made some jewelry for a friend of mine (and her daughter) that I just managed to find on myspace of all places, after searching for her for several years.. I wanted to make her something special.. so I made something she could wear with anything.. its a Y-necklace of sorts.. with hand-wire-wrapped bead dangles and cross charm.. there is a similar (but smaller) dangle on the bracelet, and a earrings with wire-wrapped dangles as well.

I made her 17 yr old daughter a bracelet and earrings .. the bracelet with a simple cross charm.. I hope she likes it.

Well that's about it for now.. nothing else remarkable going on.. we do have a long day tomorrow filled with errands and Dr appointments for all of us... so I have things to do around here .. until next time - Much love and God bless!!

A little something different..

2009-01-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

Change is refreshing.. and so many of us obsessed crafters go so intensely on one craft - we have a tendency to get burned out.. so it's good to change up a bit when you have been going "hot and heavy" on one medium for a while.. even if for just one project.. you will find yourself refreshed and even more on point when going back to the "hot and heavy" project of choice.. SO, I decided to do something non-cross stitch.. it was hand-embroidery, but a totally different animal than cross stitch with the patterns and exact colors you have to use. I did a crazy-quilted, beaded, and sequined heart. It was refreshing to use whatever colors and do whatever patterns I wanted. I made it for a friend of mine that is having a hard time in her personal life, and while I sewed it up, I prayed on her behalf.. sewing my prayers into each and every stitch.. I hope she will like it:

This is a silk ribbon rose cluster with a brass cross charm..

The clear glass leaves are some special beads I bought on a trip to Houston that I have been holding onto for that "special" project.

Also, a friend of mine requested to see my new craft space after I got my new "cabinets".. here it is:

This is the view of my dining room craft space from my kitchen

The black boxes are my stash of leaflets divided into either designers or theme. It was very quick and easy to do.. the blue box is my sewing box ..

Well that's about it for now.. I have tons of stuff to do around here.. until next time - much love and God bless.

The alphabet

2009-01-04T10:51:00.000-08:00

The letters E, F, and G:

E is for "embargo". I have shared with different groups I belong to, and my various friends that I am going to embargo buying of any non-essential stash for the year of 2009. In other words, if I run out of black DMC then I can go buy more for the current project I am working on, but I will not be buying anything " to do later".. I am doing it for a variety of reasons.. first off I suspect that I could survive for more than a year on just what stash I already have. Also, I want to save my own pocket money this year for more important items that will help my home look less cluttered - more cabinets with doors and such like that - rather than more "clutter". Also, I have so much stash that is so cute and It is a shame to let it sit there undone, as I pile more stuff in my cabinets and my want-to-do list grows and grows.. I am an artist, not a collector.. last, but not least, I get a bit OCD when I start working on a particular craft - so I wish to break this expensive habit. So there it is! I created the banner at the top of the page, feel free to borrow it and slap it on your page and join me in my journey. I would love to know if you are joining me, and if you aren't already on my blog roll, and you borrow my banner for your page, I will add you to my roll.

F is for "finish".. that oh so desired word, but so many of us serial-starters don't get to say it too often. I have been able to finish bigger and bigger projects without them becoming UFO's lately. I have been trying to work my way up to working on other projects that are bigger and more complex without losing interest. Eventually I plan to get a cycle going where I switch up and work on a different project and different type of project each day.. so hopefully more gets finished, and I don't get burned out becoming OCD about a particular craft. So anyway, back to that finish - I finally finished a bday gift for a special someone.. hopefully she won't be looking at my blog and see it.. I finished the XS part - which was a Cherished Teddy Angel.. there were a couple froggies in there.. hopefully invisible to the naked eye :-) I hand painted the frame and added embellishments as well.. the close up picture shows the very fine glitter and microbeads that I added to give the frame a heavenly feel (not bad for a plain black frame for $1.50 from the Salvation Army).. check it out:

I have a few swaps coming up that I need to get busy on.. a valentine biscornu, a lizzy kate valentine design.. so I will be putting them in rotation as well. I am going to start a slideshow for my 2009 finishes - starting with this one :-)

F is also for "fast".. not race car fast, but biblical fast. My hubs and I are fasting and praying the first 7 days of the year to get a little guidance for the year ahead. Last year we fasted from meat..but still ate seafood.. this year no meat at all.. no seafood, no redmeat, etc. It has gone well so far, and suprisingly I haven't wanted to eat much, which lets me know we are walking in His will. I have already seen God move in our lives and start doing some wonderful things. God is good, isn't He! Please feel free to join our fasting and prayer - do it however you like, for as long as you like.. you don't have to follow our model exactly.. you will be suprised what a little denying ourselves of things does for our spiritual body and our connection to our Lord.

G is for "goodies".. ahh goodies.. I seemed to be blessed with them lately.. winning giveaways (where I used to never win anything), getting suprised with things I have wanted for ages (like my hubby buying me that mixer).. I won't say it's b/c I must be living right, because we all fall short of the glory of God, and I am no better than the next person.. but I fully receive all the blessings God, thru His Grace, bestows on me. So today's "goodie", is my new computer that my mom bought for me. Most of my friends know my computer struggles - all the computers crashing except my dinosaur with windows ME that was on the verge of crashing as well.. I went from getting mom's old one, to getting a new one, and Jas getting mom's old one for her computer games (it's nice too - a gateway with plasma screen).. I really do have a generous momma, that I could never do enough to thank for everything she's done for me since I was born. So I picked up my new windows IMAC - 24" flatscreen.. this thing is amazing.. talk about a second Christmas in January...everything is built into the giant monitor.. and then the keyboard and mouse are tiny LOL.. Im still learning to use it, as MAC computers operate a little different than Windows computers.. I do love it though.. and I endeavor to repay my mom for this great blessing with my webmaster skills on her online store.. check it out:

Well with my new computer, I plan to return full-steam-ahead to all my yahoo groups, and my contributions to the Precious Mind homeschool blog. I would like to also go back to blogging on my personal blog just once a week, to keep me from O.D.'ing on this computer and not getting any creating done.

So with that, I will bid you ado for another week.. I will be surfing as the week goes on and responding to emails and watching my yahoo groups.. until next time - Much love and God bless.

All the gifts are unwrapped and peace has been restored :-)

2008-12-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

Well, it's over.. and suprisingly, this year, I am not so sad to see all the pomp and circumstance overwith..I am happy my kids had fun and got great gifts (and so did I), but now is my recovery time from 3 straight months of making gifts .. this week between Christmas and New Years. Well, I am nearly done - just have to finish this angel bear I am working on - should have it finished by Sunday *crossing fingers*:

I also got my wall-hanging quilt in the mail.

It was a 15 round - round robin that has been going on since 2007 (doing one round each month). What's so amazing is that not a single person's quilt was lost! Eventhough each of us had a time or two of mailing a tad late - it's moved rather well. I adore my new quilt - but I am a bit burned out on sane quilting and not sure if I would join to do another anytime soon. The ladies that were involved are very talented - see my link in the right column for RR Bloggers to check their blogs out.

Oh and I actually one a blog drawing - not once but TWICE!! Check out the blog at: http://lisa-memyneedleandi.blogspot.com/ It seems I won the first one as first pick..

and by default - I won another drawing on the same blog:

I think it's awesome - because I NEVER win anything.. lol.. any kind of giveaway that I sign up for - I rarely win.

I have a lovely friend that give such wonderful handmade goodies.. who wouldn't love this amazing stuff (I don't think she made the snowbaby):

And I must brag on my hubby just a little. We had agreed that I would get my storage shelves for my craft supplies.. but we had not had a chance to go pick them up yet. Well, I think he felt bad he didn't have anything for me to open from him on Christmas - so as he headed out to work that night he said.. "don't worry, we will go get your shelves soon".. of course I wasn't worried, but that is just how considerate he can be.. well when I woke up this morning - there was this on my kitchen table:

I went to the bedroom and asked what that was about on the table - he said - Merry Christmas :-) I was still getting my shelves, but he wanted me to have a suprise gift I knew nothing about.. isn't he sweet :-) He's not perfect, but he is sweet when it counts. Of course my DS2 (age 3) told me - "Momma, you can make cookies with that!" Wouldn't that be HIS first thought ;-)

Now..I guess I have some quiet time to stitch- the boys are in the bed watching TV, hubby is working nights at the refinery, and my mom and DD are still out doing the day after Christmas shopping. If I know them, they probably went to the movies and dinner as well. I like for Jasmine to have time away from her brothers and a little full attention from time to time.. and with her nana she gets spoiled rotten as well.

So off I go to stitch on this:

Much love and God bless!!

Am I on a roll or what .... and my computer probs are over for now...

2008-12-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

So my computer problems may be fixed - I uploaded some "fixes" from microsoft, and so far all of the symptoms have disappeared.. no more grey screen, no more freezing up where I have to keep restarting the computer - and I worked on it all day yesterday.. So we are back to business as usual.

Now on to more important matters.. did you notice - I finished ANOTHER stitchery project.. I am really on a roll! This time it was for my dad. He likes old south type items.. especially mammy items (I have made a few prim things for him in the past). So I used one of the mini patterns from that New Orleans Mini leaflet I bought back in November.. added my own touch to it.. and taa daa!

My sewing leaves a bit to be desired this time.. Im still getting used to my new sewing machine - and I should've sewed farther away from the border. Oh well - my imperfections give it character.. that's my story and I am sticking to it :-)

So I am down to my step mom Sarah. I am working on a XS project for her.. but she reads my blog sometimes -so I can't share what I making for her until she gets it.. It has a lot of white on it, so I am working on that portion right now, but I will have to make a pass by hobby lobby to pick up the rest of the colors on Friday. I guess I am hoping to have it completed and framed by Sunday so I can mail their package to them on Monday. If I send it priority it can be there by Christmas I hope.. *crossing fingers*

Next week is Christmas - can you believe it? I can't. We are having a very subdued Christmas.. my mom is coming from New Orleans to spend the holiday with us. She's like santa - bringing a fortune in presents to the kids, and the rest of us. She has a tiny Kia Rio and I sometimes wonder how in the world she fits it all in there - but she does. She has ordered a kitchen for the boys - who love to pretend to cook - and then to be the waiter also. I got the boys a walmart grocery cart with groceries, mom also bought them more play food and a pot and pan set.. I figure - why teach those old false gender roles that cooking and grocery shopping is just for girls? Men can do it too - believe it or not lol Now if they wanted to walk around in princess dresses - then Im not so sure I would facilitate that by buying them dresses..But anyway .. we got our kids a 14" trampoline and the net that goes around it to keep them from flying out.. and I have done something new this year - bought them stocking stuffers.. I wanted them to have something else to open from us - other than the trampoline. I even got stocking stuffers for the hubs.. I guess mom and I wont have stockings - but that's not that important to me.. or her..

I would also like to say my hubs finally took some of my not-so-subtle hints and said he wanted me to pick out the ott light I wanted and basically that would be my Christmas present. I looked around and realized I already had something similar in my living room - which I had actually purchased to use for stitching.. it is a standing floor lamp with an attatched reading lamp you can bend and move around.. just like the needlepoint lamps.. so I decided that instead of that - I would like some utility cabinets with doors for my craft stuff in the dining room - to elimate my craft clutter being all in plain view of visitors. Once I get my remaining fabric in my "craft closet" I will only have a few rolling carts of jewelry stuff (which tucks neatly under my craft table) and the 2 new cabinets. I plan on also getting a couple of hanging file holders that will slide into the cabinet to hold all stash of leaflets and XS patterns.

Oh and Jasmine was doing her daily Bible reading, and the boys wanted to sit with her and listen to her read, so I snapped this photo of them:

Anyway - that's about it for now.. Im not sure if I will have anything to post until Christmas, so if I don't blog - may all you in cyberspace have a very Merry Christmas..

Much love and God bless.

And another one bites the dust...

2008-12-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

And another one down, and another one down, and another one bites the dust.. Well I did it, another Christmas gift finished with just 2 more left to do.. and a week left until Christmas. The 2 I have left probably won't get mailed until after Christmas, so I still feel pretty good about myself. Here's one of my hubby's presents - this his homemade gift.. I sponge painted the frame to look like water - this is another one of my $1.50 Salvation Army frames.. It had a few scratches on it, but the paint covered it right up. It's kind of hard to see but I also sponged on glitter paint to make the "water" sparkle:

I have lots of housework and more project planning before we are off to dance class. So until next time, much love and God bless.

P.S. Stay tuned for more giveaways, and be sure to check out my Wednesday posting at http://thepreciousmind.blogspot.com

My favorite kind of recycling - and a few other tidbits

2008-12-13T16:04:00.000-08:00

Ok stitchers, try not to drool all over your keyboard when you see what I traded to get.. I had an assundry of supplies for different crafts that were not being used.. stuff I paid good money for, but had abandoned that craft a while ago (some a VERY long while ago) OR stuff that I had multiples of.. I was lucky enough to find someone (on a yahoo group set up for artists to trade supplies) who had abandoned XS, and just happened to like (when she was stitching) the same designers that I do (Prairie Schooler, Lizzie Kate, etc).. I boxed mine up, she boxed hers up, and we swapped.. I was so excited to get the box today and wanted to share it with you..

I adore all the patterns and have no clue where to start (after all my Christmas presents are done of course). And it looks like we may be swapping more goodies, to build up my XS fabric stash.. I will be all set for my "no new stash embargo" that starts at the beginning of the year - except for cases where I need embroidery thread or items for a project I am working on that I am completely out of. IN other words, no buying of supplies for stuff I would like to do at some point.. I am curious to see how far that will carry me thru the year. This will also fit into my plans of narrowing down the supplies I have on hand for my top 3 crafts: hand-embroidery, jewelry, and sewing. I am considering giving away some things to charity and also trying to set up more trades.

I got a wonderful gift for my birthday the other day in the mail.. a sweet little friend of mine had these great purses on her blog - and after I remarked that I like it, she set it aside for me for my birthday.. It's made with beautiful, soft chenille thread.. I am thinking of getting some chain for it so I can carry it on my shoulder:

Also, for the first time in YEARS, I had "birthday money" :-) I decided that I would spend it on myself - as I am always passing over what I need or want for my family (all moms know what I mean).. I got this cool magnifying tool for when I use small ct aida or linen, I wear it around my neck .. and I even found one with a light.. I also got a 6x6 QSnap.. some embroidery thread..and for $2.00 I managed to get all the following patterns - most of which were 5 cents or 10 cents per leaflet.. I'm thinking I will use some in blog giveaways next year. I still have a little money left - I will more than likely finish it off with more embroidery supplies :-) I may have to print off another 40% coupon for Hobby Lobby :-)

Ok so I finished the victorian double shotgun.. and was very disturbed to see a big stain on the fabbie - from the hoop!! I tried to clean it off and it is not budging.. I tried framing it to cover it up - and the mat is too big.. so I have decided to take it out of the frame, sew a fabric trim on it, and put it BACK in the frame.. hopefully that will help.. needless to say I was quite upset at all that work done and a big stain on the fabric. That's why I bought the QSnap, hoping to have better luck with my projects. I guess I need a huggy for my QSnap too. Anyway - here is what the finshed house looks like - stain and all:

ON another note - snow.. I had been complaining how we never see snow here.. and guess what.. it snowed early monday morning.. granted - it melted by afternoon.. but it snowed, and huge flakes too.. it wasn't just a dusting.. I would say it was at least a good inch deep..My husband (who is a SW Louisiana native) said that this was only the 3rd time he had seen snow here in his life - so that is pretty amazing in and of itself.. Jas even sat at the window and watched.. by the time it was getting light it was too wet to play in.. but she enjoyed watching it.. with her blanket and binoculars at the window :-) Enjoy our Louisiana Winter Wonderland Photos:

Ok - I guess that's enough for now.. I still have several presents to finish before Christmas.. we will be taking a small siesta from homeschool until the new year - we will still do bible/devotional, silent reading, and drilling multiplication tables.. but no more book work, papers, or research. We have gifts to finish, family coming to visit, cookies and goodies to bake, and outings to go to - which will take a lot of our time.. I want us to enjoy this holiday season while it lasts.. I hope to start with the first volume of Five In A Row come January.

I am going to be busy with our online store -

http://houseofcoumarie.wordpress.com

So if I dont blog much - don't worry - I am just hard at work.. if I don't talk to you before Christmas, may everyone reading this have a very merry Christmas and a BLESSED New Year!!

Work work and another giveaway winner..

2008-12-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ok.. I have worked tirelessly on our website this week.. it is way more work than you would think.. especially when customizing it with options not available with the website (like changing text colors and such).. and especially when starting it up and having to load everything you have in inventory onto the site.. then turn around and take stuff off when it's sold.. it's worth it though.. And now I DO have some of my things there - everything on the site has been moved to our clearance section for an end of the year closeout - starting next year we will still have clearance items.. and new pieces added will go in their respective pages ..shop has been renamed to "Chickadee Bijoux" and my mom is "Maria's Ooh La La's".. here's the link to our website for some nearly last minute Christmas shopping:

CLICK HERE TO SHOP OUR STORE HOUSE OF COUMARIE.

Now on to the giveaway winner - Mylene!! Mylene please email me at cshortprudhomme@yahoo.com and give me your addy to mail you your goodies!!

I am nearly done with my victorian double shotgun.. I am almost done with the X's and am about to start the backstitch.. I will wait to show another picture until it's completely finished and maybe even framed.

HOpe everyone had a relaxing weekend and hope you have a productive week filled with lots of fun art and crafting!!

Much love and God bless!!

She works hard for her money.. so hard for it honey!! AND ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!!!!

2008-12-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

I have been neglecting my blog this week.. why, you ask?? Do you think it might be because I was busy stitching? No, but I did DO some stitching on my victorian shotgun double.. I have spent like the last 3 days working on the new online store that mom and I are sharing.. she sent me at least 50 items(with more to come) to upload - and it wasn't as simple as just upload.. I had to pull them off my email, upload the pics to flickr.. get the picture code off flickr.. type the description and html coding FOR EACH PIECE! It's a headache, but it won't be so bad in the future when she is only sending me 10 at a time to add to the site.. I have been focusing on her stuff and have only begun to add my own. Her section of the store is called "Maria's Ooh La La" and mine is "Chickadee Bijoux".. right now we just have items in the clearance section - but the prices have been drastically reduced. So if you are looking for handmade in america at a low price - go check our store out by clicking on the picture of the bracelet below:

Or cutting and pasting this addy into your browser: http://www.houseofcoumarie.wordpress.com

I will be adding a bunch of my own purses and jewelry to the clearance section next week - so be SURE to check back then.

Speaking of stitching.. more progress on the Victorian Shotgun Double..

It's coming along nicely .. and I can see myself being done with it next week. Then .. more Christmas gifts :-)

On the homeschool front.. check out this great video with the primary reason why we NEED to get our Christian children out of public school and back home to homeschool them where the morals and values we want instilled in our children are being taught:

Also, please visit "The Precious Mind" and see my article today entitled "Conjunction Junction What's Your Function"... you can find it here:

http://www.thepreciousmind.blogspot.com

On to the giveaway.. I received my ebay auction the other day - with a bunch of great cross stitch mags (old ones from like 80's and 90's).. it happened to have a leaflet I already owned.. Sunbonnet Babies (in cross stitch).. everyone that comments on this post will have their name thrown in the hat to be drawn out this weekend.. and maybe get another freebie from me too :-) Be sure to leave your email addy in your comment.

Well today is my birthday - and I am going to relax and do a little stitching.. maybe even bake myself a cake :-) To everyone that took the time to read my blog today - much love and God bless!!

Sleeping beauties and a little more progress on Chrismtas gifties

2008-11-30T10:42:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing my hubby doesn't read my blog.. I have a tendancy to post candid pictures.. especially ones I find particularly cute.. I hadn't had an opportunity to take a pic like this in a long time, so I couldn't resist.. after a pillow fight and wrestling match .. it got real quiet in my bedroom... I went in there to find this (the photo is a little dark b/c I didn't want to use my flash to wake them up:

Also, I made some serious progress on my mom's double shotgun house.. check it out:

I actually broke down and used a piece of my hand-dyed fabbie I got from Joan at sapphirestitching.com last week. Wonderful stash like this is usually coveted and put away to be admired, but I decided I must, MUST use some stash I have.. and I endeavor to start a stop-buying-stash in January where I use what I have unless (for example) I run out of black DMC on a project and need more.. I would like to see how long I could go without a stash spree.. I have so many supplies in closets and shelves around the house that are collecting dust - it's high time I start to use it all.. I am hoping that I can use it down to my 3 top favorite crafts and only stay stocked for those things.. so perhaps I will start selling/trading some of the rest of it if it doesn't get used up. We shall see..

Well I have the washing machine running, and all my other "chores" are done for the day.. so I am going to spend a relaxing sunday watching true crime shows on the I.D. channel and get some more progress done on my XS project..

Much love and God bless..

Gobble Gobble and a few finishes..

2008-11-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share some of my thanksgiving pics with you guys. I actually took the time to label them this time, so you will kinda know who is who.. I was behind the camera so there are none of me.. and my hubby was working at that time, so he isn't in there either.. but you can see the rest of our family that came (some people like hubby's oldest brother and 2 half-siblings were absent also).. We had dinner at my MIL and FIL's house.. I prepared homemade mac n cheese (my first time and I loved it.. some others didn't - preferred boxed to homemade), my hubby's recipe for baked beans (includes bacon, ground beef, and brown sugar), Lumpia (fillipino egg rolls), and a strawberry cake with white icing.. So without further a-do:

I also finished up a bunch of small gifties for online friends that i will be mailing out very soon.. I had originally planned on stitching or sewing gifts, but looking at how much time before Christmas, I decided to put together some jewelry that goes together rather quickly - but still looks nice.. here's the packages as I didn't take individual pictures.. I also labled each baggy so when it came time to package them up I would know what belonged to who :-) Now I just need to collect some addresses :-)

I am also very pleased to say I finished my MIL's stitchery gift.. this will go in the gift basket I am putting together for her..I used varigated valdini thread on the hands and the flower petals.. I thought it would give it an interesting look rather than just using one color.. I like how it turned out.. I hope she likes it:

Now I am on to my mom's stitchery gift.. I have planned to make my dad and hubby a little something.. we will see if time permits..

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday before the Chrismtas shopping "crunch".. I have done most of my shopping online, and only have to go to dollar tree for stocking stuffers and fillers for my giftbaskets.. I prefer to pay a little shipping rather than fight to park and to shop in the stores.. a lot of online shops realize that and offer a lot of good deals of their own..

Anyway.. off to exercise clean up.. and stitch til I can't stitch no more :-)

Much love and God bless..

Check blog posting for my new blog

I will no longer post here - I have a new blog!!

Has it been that long?

Guess who got a snuggy!!

Scraps!! Gotta love 'em!!

Giveaway shout out for a Target giftcard!!

Did you think I was finished??

Look out Thanksgiving.. here I come!!

One little, two little, three little .. pumpkins!

Halloween is nearly here!!

Look at me blogging again so soon!!

Facebook or blogger?

Just a little something...

Another giveaway!!!!

Another one down!!!

bad lazy blogger i am!!

Happy Birthday to Raggedy Ann!!

Happenings..

My New Baby

Blogging Funk

Doin the happy dance for the season 2 premier!!!

Doing the happy dance

Step AWAY from the felt and no one gets hurt...

Lovely, lazy Sunday

Sooper Dooper Quick..

A quick peek..

Let me tell you good my hubby is..

Another beautiful Tuesday!!

What have I been doing?

Sunday Update...

Some swapbot stuff..

Bad blogger.. bad bad blogger!!

My baby turns 9

How does your garden grow?

Got any stitching done?

Thank you!!

Sewing marathon!!

And the winner is...........

Ok - who's going to be first??

Busy Days and Nights

Please forgive me!!

Look at my stash - and get some stash!!

I'm still here!!

So much to talk about.. Another giveaway winner and ANOTHER giveaway

One armed paper hanger...

And the winner is.......*drumroll*

Thank God for my laundry??

Better Late than Never!

Real quick...

Not a finish, but a good portion down!!

Weary and Windblown...

Ok, I admit it, I'm a weirdo :-)

Sherlock Holmes?

Valentine bookmark finish!

Another Wonderfully Blessed Wednesday

A wonderful wednesday!!!!!!!

Another finish and breaking my embargo

A day of floss organization

So far so good on swapbot - and a little gifty :-)

New finish

Pay it Forward.. and a bit of an update ..

A little something different..

The alphabet

All the gifts are unwrapped and peace has been restored :-)

Am I on a roll or what .... and my computer probs are over for now...

And another one bites the dust...

My favorite kind of recycling - and a few other tidbits

Work work and another giveaway winner..

She works hard for her money.. so hard for it honey!! AND ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Sleeping beauties and a little more progress on Chrismtas gifties

Gobble Gobble and a few finishes..

And the winner is.......drumroll