Wish List Giveaway

TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleigh-ful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?
1. Bobbin threader
2. Reusable water bottle
3. Gym bag
4. Bottle cap tripod
5. Sewing books

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
Wow, I don't know if I can pick a favorite---I LOVE handmade gifts and each
one is so special to me. One of the last ones I received was this calendar that
Jana made for me (it hangs on my refrigerator now)

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
Each year, if have a list a mile long of all the things I want to make---some of
which I get to and others that I don't. I've wanted to learn how to needle felt
to make a few really beautiful ornaments---maybe someday . . .

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
One of my favorite gifts was the beautiful Barbie wedding trousseau that my
mama made one year.

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?
My kids are grown-ups and they are wishing for clothes, books and household
things.

6. What is your favorite holiday food?
Mashed potatoes! (and Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses----yum!)

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
This year, I'm embellishing reusable shopping bags, making manicure sets and
more!

8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
Unlike lots of people, I really don't care for "A Wonderful Life" or "A Christmas
Carol". I like the movie "Elf" and really love holiday songs!

9. Favorite holiday song?
"Mary, Did You Know?"


10. Favorite holiday pastime?
Just being with family is my favorite thing. I love Christmas afternoon, after all the gifts and eating is over and we have time to just sit around in the messy living room reading books or playing games.

Trotting Along

The morning began much the way Thanksgiving has begun for us the past 10 years or so---with the Turkey Trot. It was crisp and cool and perfect for a morning walk. Callie came with Jordan's dad, Dennis (Jordan was not feeling good this morning). I brought Dan for the first time and we joined some of our regular friends at the starting line.As we began the race, the runners went first and the walkers brought up the rear. Dan and I brought up the very tail-end! Due to the recent flooding the path didn't take us through the woods this time, but instead along the Parkway. After walking about a mile into it, Dan and I decided to get off the path and move over to the bike trail to watch for Callie as she finished the race. There goes Dennis past us. And there goes Callie. Run, Callie, run!Now, I'm going to go start peeling potatoes while Dan takes a little snooze. Mmmmm-Dinner is on its way!

I'm A Winner!

Look at this beautiful oilcloth. . .
These are the newest patterns from Amy Butler's line. Kelly, over at Oilcloth Addict, carries it.
And see the pattern on the right (Paradise Mint) . . .
I just won 1/2 yard of it!!

Congrats you just won the 1/2 yard of Amy Butler Oilcloth. I see you like the paradise mint. Please send me your mailing address and I will get that out to you later this week.

----thanks for playing, Kelly

Thanks, Kelly!!
Hooray, I'm so excited!

Thanksgiving Break

My school break, for Thanksgiving, started off a bit differently than I'd envisioned (of course, I should have expected something to go wrong). Instead of cleaning house and sewing Christmas gifts, I spent the weekend at the hospital with Mimi. Fortunately, she is now home from the hospital and recovering from pneumonia, and now I'm determined to get some of the things on my "to do" list checked off. This morning, I dropped Emmi off at the groomer's and headed out to run a few errands.

After beginning to move some of the stuff out of the storage facility, I came home to help Ronnie hang my new light fixture. Years ago, I'd found the old one for next to nothing at a sale and had a friend hang it for me, but it never worked well, the swag was way too short and, well, it was just ugly. I love the new fixture (pardon the busy background)!! The plumber arrived to work on the bathtub about the same time I needed to pick up Emmi, (doesn't she look cute now???)
but fortunately it only took about 5 minutes for him to unplug the clog (and lot more $$, I'm sure). I felt kind of silly when he showed me how to disassemble the drain to clear it myself next time. Oh well, at least the tub will be draining better when Dan arrives in a couple of days.

There are still lots of projects on my list--like new living room pillows and painting the woodwork in a couple of rooms--but at this point, I think I'll be satisfied if I can just get the house clean.

The Fifties

Well, it's official. I am now "in my fifties". Somehow that sounds a lot older than just being "50". But, really, who cares?? I mean, it's just a number, right?.

So for my birthday, I got tons of great birthday wishes on Facebook, which was really nice. Jana, Rob and Callie all called to sing to me (which was fun!!). And this afternoon at my final collage class, I was surprised by another song and casino cakes (compliments of Callie). It was great! Here is a semi-serious birthday photo of us---if you take away the Chrismon that Jamie is using as an earring in the picture. And then because I discovered that I have a "timed, 3 photo" option on my camera, we decided to try it out. (yes, Jamie has on my jeweled reading glasses)
Our collage group has been small, but so fun! I think we all hate to call it quits for a few weeks during this holiday season. But, our projects really turned out nice--each unique and great! (we were supposed to bring frames this week, but I was the only one that brought one----we aren't very good at homework).
And as you can tell, there was nothing very serious at all about our class. We worked and talked and created and laughed and just had a great time! .

Holidays in Hand #1

I signed up for Jessica Sprague's "Holidays in Hand" class and the first lesson was posted today. It starts by asking me to think about my own Holiday Values-what are words that describe my family's holiday values and/or traditions:
-Joy
-Togetherness
-Peace
-Faith, despite tragedy
-Sharing
-Generosity
-Warmth
-Comfort
-Laughter
-Games
-Cookies
-Candlelight
-Photos
-Food
-Family
-Handbells
-Breakfast
-Music
-Relaxation

The next step is to actually turn this list into some actual goals for the Season this year. (I'm working on that part) and then the last assignment today is to commit to setting aside 20 minutes EVERY DAY in December to slowing down/remembering/recording the holiday. Now that's a challenge!

Inspiration

I seem to be in a pattern of posting totally random things--photos I like, etc. Well, here's a quote I ran across over on The Object Project.

“To get inspired and think of fun new ideas, half an hour hula-hooping in the garden usually does the trick.” --Alex Goodwin

The only thing is, I don't seem to have any trouble at all coming up with fun, new idea. But, I need some serious inspiration to clean up my previous projects/ideas!

Make A Wish

Make a wish . . .

Hope Squared

These fun fabrics from Joann's . . . . . . led to this simple quilt for Craft Hope Project #5. May each child that receives receives one, be comforted and warmed by the love and caring of strangers.

Blog Background

This afternoon, somehow I lost be blog background again. I think I accidentally deleted it when I was adding a page element and then I couldn't remember where I'd found it to begin with. So, after perusing lots of free backgrounds and finding none that I really loved for my blog, I decided to try to make my own. It's certainly not perfect (I haven't figured out how to "tile" the images yet so that it's seamless), but I kind of like it.

What do you think?

Randomness

On the way home from the baby shower, this is what I saw on the edge of the street near my house. While part of me felt like I should get a blanket and cover it up, the other part of me thought, "since I have my camera in the car, I'll take a pic of it" I love the total randomness!!

Showers Again

Today's baby shower was so sweet. It was a smallish crowd--Alice is new to the area and to our church so she is just getting to know some of the ladies in her Sunday School and art classes. I met her through some mission projects we've worked on together and found her so genuine and sweet. What a joy it has been to get to know her and share a part in her new beginning. Bobra's house is beautiful and the food was amazing (there's a reason that I stick to sewing and crafts and let others handle the food!) Here are a few photos:

We can't wait to meet you, little John Evan!!

Baby Memories

I thought I'd show you the baby book that I created for Alice. Her nursery theme is Woodland Animals, so I carried that over to the Baby/Memory Book. I used a plain, off-white, 8.5" x 11" album and paper by Paper Studio that I bought at Hobby Lobby. Inspired by the baby book pages found over at Ali Edwards Tuesday Tutorials, made by Janet Hopkins, I purchased and downloaded this kit from House of 3. Once downloaded though, I realized that I wanted alot more detail, so I created my own pages to use in conjunction with their kit. Here's what I came up with:
The Title Page (using the logo from House of 3):

And the baby book itself (you can click on the picture to enlarge it):
And the last page features a pocket filled with "photo cards"--one for each month--the idea being to place the card in front of the baby each month and snap a picture. There are 12 different photo slots to display the photos just before this page.

Five Minutes

I want to share a blog that I read on a regular basis. This morning's post over at (in)Courage touched my heart because it captures the very reason I love my job so much. I don't know Parker at all, but I know many other children like him who are filled with joy and love and uniqueness and I am thankful for them.

They linked to another website that I wasn't familiar with---5 Minutes for Special Needs. Check it out.

Felt Deer

I am co-hostessing a baby shower tomorrow for a friend at church. Alice is using browns and greens in her nursery with this wonderful bedding set. Given the forest animals and Fall season, we decided to use that as our theme for the shower, too. I made the invitations and a Baby Book/Memory album which we plan to give as a hostess gift.

Tonight, I tackled the last project-- the little deer that we want to decorate the table with. Plan A involved buying some of that really stiff felt, cutting out 2 pieces, gluing it together at the top, leaving the legs free so that the deer will stand up. Great idea, right? Well, did you know that you can't find that stiff felt in brown? I went to every store I could think of and no brown, stiff felt.

So, on to plan B.

1. Design a pattern, 2. Cut out felt deer parts, 3. Sew them together 4. And stuff. (not necessarily in that order). Well, it was a little bit more complicated than that, but not much. (This pattern and tutorial is now available on Craftsy.  Just click HERE)

They turned out pretty cute! Tomorrow I'll post some pics of the shower decorations.

Collage

Collage - [kuh-lahzh] a technique of composing a work of art by pasting on a single surface various materials not normally associated with one another

The class in "Collage" that I'm taking at church has been so fun. Not only am I getting to create something fun, but I've enjoyed getting to know our teacher and the others in the class even better. Our class is small, but that has given us the opportunity to really get to know each other better and is far less intimidating. And the collages are beginning to come together. As with many of my projects, I continually question myself---should I add something else? Are there too many colors? etc., etc. But, I definitely have enjoyed the process and am pleased with how it is turning out.

Happy

This picture that I took up at Caddo Lake Park this week makes me happy.

ME

ME---Mary Englebreit, that is. I enjoyed seeing some of the new drawings she's been working on for her new calendar over at her blog. Here's one of my favorites----isn't it so true!??!