Merry Christmas

MERRY  CHRISTMAS

MAY YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE A BRIGHT AND HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON AND THE GREATEST NEW YEAR.

Great Idea from Attempting Aloha

Isn't this clock just GREAT.  Want to make one for $5.00?  Yes, you can.  Head over to

http://attempingaloha.blogspot.com/ to find out how you can do this.  Plus check out the rest of her blog for great ideas.

Happy Thanksgiving

A Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family from mine.

Header name centered

My nephew, Jerry, came over this morning and fixed my header for me.  I wanted the name centered and didn't know how to do it.  It didn't take him long, and now everything looks better.  Thanks, Jerry.

New Blog Header

I got tired of my old header so I found this very cute one on "Cute "n" cool" blogspot.com.  Unfortunately I don't know how to center the blog title.  Perhaps someone can tell me how? If I don't blog before then I hope that everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving.

Sarah



Sarah right after she got up from bed.

I just couldn't resist posting this picture of Sarah.  She looks just like her mother did at this age; Sarah will be two years old next month.  It seems  just like yesterday that she was born.



Coffin Swap

This is the coffin I received from Valerie who is the leader of our swap group, The sum of all ATCs.

She is just the best in everything she does.  The coffins were from http://www.retrocafeart.com/

This is the inside of the coffin covered by a spider web.  The spider is hanging  from his web, and at the bottom of the coffin is the dust from "the body."  I am afraid that my picture don't do justice to this art piece.

To make this even more special is the box that is was mailed it.  The mailing label came off perfectly and so now I have this beautiful Halloween box also.

This is the front of the box and following are the back and the four sides.  What a great idea!

Thank you so much Valerie, I just love the coffin and the box.

Q is for Quilt

Above is the latest alphabet card that I made.  I made the little quilt, folded it over a clothes line,  and then attached it with miniature clothes pins.  Sorry for the bad cropping, but I tried and thought I was successful, but alas I wasn't.

Alphabet letters O and P

Isn't this the cutest little face.  Although I didn't do a lot of collage on this card, I think the otter just is great all by itself.  The starfish was in the otter's paws but I enhanced the color a bit.

This is the papoose card for the letter P.  I got the image off the Internet somewhere.  I just love the background paper and I think it fits the image so well.  I made the "charm" that hangs from it.

  Our next letter is of course Q.  I have an idea, so all I have to do is make it.  Plus work on the quilt blocks for my block of the month quilt.  It has a total of 111 blocks and is to take 18 months.  Soon I will show you the blocks that I have made.  Plus I am working on my mystery quilt from this month, and a coffin for a swap I am in.  Yes, it is a coffin swap.  LOL  Plus I have a fairy 4x4 card that is past due.  Oh the life of someone who likes to do things, but unfortunately is a procrastinator.

Giveaway at Brynwood Needleworks

Head on over to Brynwood Needleworks (http://brynwoodneedleworks.blogspot.com/ ) and visit Donna.  She has a GREAT giveaway going on now on her blog.  It is a beautiful lap quilt that is made from the above fabrics.  What a generous gift.

I always enjoy reading Donna's blog as she is such a creative woman.  Check out her boutique to see the items that she has for sale.  You will be amazed.

Sweet Goodness Swap

At the beginning of August I participated in a swap through Sweet Goodness Swaps, and my partner was Elise of http://www.birdnestsandpaper.blogspot.com/.  She has a great blog and an etsy shop,  from which I have purchased some wonderful vintage things.  For the swap you had to include at least a vintage item, a homemade item and something sweet.  Below are some pictures of the wonderful things that I received from Elise.

Isn't that just the cutest tin.  I think that I am going to display it on my dresser in my bedroom to hold

things that I accumulate on top that make it so messy.  This will be perfect to hold coins, jewelry and

other things that seem to end up there.  Sometimes I collect stones that look like hearts that I intend to

do something with someday.

Inside the tin were extras that I can use when making ATCs and various art projects.  Those are shortbread

cookies which went so well with the peach ginger tea.  Yes, they went well together, and they went fast. LOL

There were also these beautiful fruit coasters which were tied up with a red ribbon and a vintage green flowered clip.  I can't wait to use that on something.

This is one of two plaques  that Elise made me.  Isn't it just the nicest?  It also has the second green clip earring on the ribbon.

This the the second plaque with a quote from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream which was the theme for the swap.

This is a close up of the quote.

I just love this picture of Swedish children dancing around the Midsummer's Eve pole.  Next to Christmas this is the most important national holiday in Sweden.

Look at the wonderful bird images and the little nest with bird and eggs.  I am a lover of birds in the wild, but do not like them near me.  When I was already married and out of the house, my mother was raising a Baltimore Oriole in her house.  I called to it and the next thing I knew I was under the dining room table.  (When it was full grown she released it back to the wild.)  Elise must love birds also since her blog is call Bird Nests and Paper.  Check out her blog and her etsy shop, I am sure  that you will like them.

Again, thank you dear Elise I couldn't be happier with my gifts.

4 x 4 Cards for Ancient Mysteries Swap

I have been behind on my swaps this summer.  Can't imagine why. LOL  The Bast card is for the Egytian 

god card.  Naturally I had to do a cat.

The next one is the animal totem card.  Now I have one more to make and I will be done with this swap, except for a few loose ends.  I have to make a cover, and then hope that I receive my cards from my swap partners.   Right now I am missing two, plus the one that is due this month.  But since I have been late on a lot of mine-haven't even started this months- I think everyone will come through with cards.

I've gotten back to my sewing machine

I saw this cute dress on Esty and decided to order two kits to make dresses for Juliet and Sarah.  The site is http://littlefishbigpond.etsy.com .  Check out the cute kits she has for sale.  They are reasonably priced, all cut out for you, and all materials included.  You just do the sewing, ( the directions are easy and  well written) and the dress is sewn in no time.  I just love the way they turned out and hope that Juliet and Sarah like them.  The red one is for Juliet and the turquoise print for Sarah. 

This is a skirt that I made for Sarah.  MI daughter had bought some fabric for me to make The Girly Stripwork skirt from http://www.pinkfig.typepad.com a while back and of course I misplaced it in my sewing room.  So I finally found the material and made up the strip part of the skirt, only to find out that the material was not what she had bought.  I should have know when I saw the yellow.  So to remedy the situation MI daughter and I headed to the fabric store to find some kind of  "funky fabric" to save the skirt.  We picked the diamond pattern for the drop waistband and the  hem band and were pleased  with the results.

Miss Sarah

Slide Houses swap

These are the slide mount houses that I made for a swap.  They were a lot of fun to do, and the green one is my favorite.  Can't wait to see what I get back.

I Won!

Yes, I won the fabulous giveaway from My Vintage Studio!  What a beautiful assortment of gifts.  You can see them all above.  First is the great plate that was wrapped in the blue paper with the big flower on it.  Also is the small cup with roses on it.  there are four pieces of lace wrapped around old clothespins that have been stamped.  Too cute, and such a nice idea.  There are two wonderful tags that Sharon made, and believe me that are truly wonderful.  The antique great well cards and souvenir postcards just add to the gift.   Plus there are two vintage hankies and a pair of rose chrystal earrings.  WOW   Sharon  has a vintage blog that you should check out as well as her etsy shop.  Thank you Sharon!

Giveaway at MY Vintage Studio

Head on over to Sharon's blog at My Vintage Studio and check out the wonderful giveaway she is having on her blog.  Sign up ends on May 15, 2010.  Isn't her blog cute?  Also check out her Etsy shop.

Lucky Dip Angel Swap

The ATC group I belong to had an angel swap, and you chose four angels to depict.  You could use any picture of an angel, but the art work  was to reflect what the angel represents.    Allison, in the UK, was our host and she always comes up with the greatest ideas.  Here are my angels:

Anachel is the angel of fertility

Shushienae is the angel of purity

Zagzagel is the angel of wisdom

Forfax is the angel of astronomy

Teapots and Coffee

I finally finished my teapots for the "In the style of Mary Englebreit teapot" swap. I had a lot of difficulty keeping the edges as "clean" as I could. I am not the greatest when it comes to using an exact knife. The girls in the Sum of All ATCs group suggested sanding the edges and then inking which is what I did. I used an emery board instead of sand paper, which seemed to work better for me.
The blue one below and the red and yellow teapots were done using ME note cards that I cut up. I especially like the blue one.

The pink one below is very similar to the black one that I did first and posted on an earlier entry. Now I have to make the cover that will be mine to use to put together a book when I receive the teapots from others in the group.

I won the cute pink coffee cup sleeve in a giveaway from Her Art Nest. Nancy is a fabulous artist who also likes to knit. Check out her blog to see her art work and knitting. She has a beautiful sweater on there that she made for her granddaughter.

Teapot in the style of Mary Englebriet Swap

This is what I am working on today. I have to make four teapot to swap and one for myself as the cover of the chipboard book. I am behind in my swaps as usual, so I hope to find time to get at least two made today. This swap is for The Sum of All ATCs yahoo group which is hosted by Valerie Brinchek.

Haiku 6x6 cards

I was in a Haiku swap, that had to have an oriental background. Above and below are the two cards that I made. I used a Haiku generator to help me "write" my two poems. This swap was a lot of fun, and the two that I got back were just terrific. So much so that I wish that I had made more than two.

On a different note if you live in the Detroit area you might like to visit http://www.tutusandtinkertoys.com/, and click on her blog. Emily the owner of the business is a great photographer and just recently took pictures of Sarah, who is now 17 months old. Of course, she is my granddaughter so I am prejudiced, but the pictures are beautiful

Art Work for Swaps

This a card that I did for the Ancient Wisdom and Magic Swap hosted by Ali on the Yahoo group The sum of all ATCs. The subject for this page was flowers, and I chose the Rose. The back of the card told the meanings for the Rose.

The following card is for an alphabet swap that I am in. It is an L for the word Lady. I tried to tell a story on my card.

I haven't been able to access my blog, as my main computer will not let me get on blogger.com, saying it is a security risk. I called my provider who couldn't help and referred me to the security downloaded by the provider. The security company took control of my computer, but after THREE hours they were not able to find out what is wrong. I am just so upset by this. I am on my laptop, but it does not have all pictures, nor do I want to load them on laptop.

Giveaway at Brynwood Needleworks

Donna at Brynwood Needleworks is having a giveaway on her blog celebrating her blog anniversary. The delightful teacup with mouse is just one of the great prizes that she will be giving away. Head over to her blog and check it out. She is a fabulous knitter and writes an interesting blog about her hobby and family

Waffle House

Today Fred and I went to the Waffle House for our favorite breakfast--Waffles. The Waffle House that was near our rented condo is no longer open, so to get our waffle fix we have to travel 32 miles! How many people would drive that far for a waffle? But their waffles are just so good.

On the way back Fred went golfing, although it was cold, cloudy, and windy. I had to go grocery shopping and then stopped at Hobby Lobby to check out the craft supplies. Usually I finish shopping at least an hour before he is finished so I sit in the car and read, do suduko, or knit waiting for him. I don't mind the wait because it is warm in the car, and I can entertain myself.

Toby visits his "sister" and "brother"

While we are in Florida our MI daughter is watching Toby for us at her house. Her cat, Murphy, and Toby don't get along very well, but I think it is all an act on their part. Neither cat is aggressive, but someone has to be the "top cat", so they have to hiss and chase each other around. Toby always comes out the winner, because Murphy is such a sweetheart of a cat. When Toby comes over to my daughter's house he spends an hour or two walking around moaning for us. Then he usually discovers Murphy's current favorite spot and promptly sits himself down for a nap. If Murphy is in the spot, then Toby will sit near him, making Murphy nervous, or so Toby thinks. Poor Murphy he has always been at the bottom of the pecking order. Even now that he is the only cat that MI daughter has, he is still at the bottom, at least in his eyes. (But MI daughter loves her Murphy, and puts up with a lots of things that no one but a cat lover would.)

Toby spends time in the basement when Sarah is around. Like any 15 month child she rushes at him squealing with delight which is just too much for him. As soon as she goes to bed at night he runs up from the basement for his dinner.