Skinny Scarf

I was in the mood to crochet yesterday so I decided to make this skinny scarf and I will stick it up stairs in my gift bin.  It will be nice to have some things done ahead.  I found this free pattern on the internet at the website youcanmakethis.com.  Here is the link to it: 
https://www.youcanmakethis.com/info/crochet-knitting/Breast-Cancer-Awareness-Skinny-Scarf.htm
and if you go to the link, you can see what it actually looks like on a person.  It looks much cuter on a person!

I finished it this afternoon while I was talking to Jenna on the phone.  I also cut out one of my projects for next weeks stamping class, wrote out a bunch of cards and got them ready to mail, chit chatted with Di for awhile on the phone, and made a "to do" list.  I am happy to say that I have been able to check off 3 things on it so far today!  This is my last post for 2010....Have a Happy New Year!

Chicken Towel

This is the new Chicken towel that I just started doing.  A funky, fun chicken, lol  Love it!  I finished 2 more towels last night so now have done 6 this week and  I have started a seventh.  I am not getting any crafting accomplished so far today.  I have been doing laundry, stripped the bed, and have been picking up around here.  I also downloaded a few pictures that Sarah took at Christmas, and printed a few so that I can show the Yackette's tonight..  Sarah got some real good ones of Mason.  I hope you all are enjoying the sunshine!  Have a great day!  Elaine

Brooke and her quilt

First thing this morning when Brooke woke up........and woke me up, she told me that she wanted to finish her quilt and make it into a real quilt.  Aunt Elaine still needed a little time to wake up so Brooke finished reading her book that we got from the library yesterday, and of course was chattering in between reading!  After bowls of Captain Crunch, I talked her into adding more rows to her quilt.  She only had it about 12" x 12" to begin with.  So the first thing she did was to add some more rows to it.  She was so pleased and proud of herself when she had it all done.  She is going to use it as a little blanket to hold on to.  She does that with the baby quilt I made her.  Kind of like a little Linus blanket I said.  She laughed and said yes.  She also made another card this morning.  She kind of had mixed feelings about whether or not she wanted to go home, but she told me that her family was missing her and that she had better go home.  But she said she had a really great time and had a lot of fun.  The house is quiet now without her chatter.  But Diane was over this afternoon, and we exchanged our Christmas presents, and Jenna just called, so it really hasn't been that quiet yet!  I am sure that Taffy is going to miss her as Taffy was eating up all the extra attention she was getting, and Molly will miss her to in her own way as she likes to watch people even though she is not so keen about them touching her.  I have been working on stitching towels, and I have stitched 4 so far this week, and I am almost done with a fifth one.  I have a new Chicken one to show you for tomorrow.  It sure turned out cute!  Until tomorrow....Elaine

Spiral Scarf for Sarah

I crocheted this spiral scarf for my daughter Sarah for Christmas.  I love how it turned out and I hope that she does too!  I decided to hang it off the lamp so you could see the length of it, and then I laid it down on the kitchen table so you could see it up close.  I just love the colors in it.

I had another busy day with my niece Brooke.  She was up and rear'in to go at 8 am this morning.  As most of you know, I am not exactly a morning person.  It took me a little longer to totally wake up, but with chatter, chatter....it was hard not too!  First thing she did this morning was some sewing and she made another quilt top for her webkinz, this time with some 4" blocks and she liked working with the bigger squares.  But she was not interested in learning how to complete it into a quilt, then she was off to card making.  And we went to the library to pick up my things that had come in, and she checked out a book.  We ran a few more errands and then were back home again.  She made another card, then we decided to finish watching the movie Heidi which we had started watching yesterday, and then we watched the AristoCats.  I think that is my favorite Disney movie, and maybe the best one they have made (that I have seen).  Brooke also determined after the movie was over that it was the best Disney movie that they have made.  She is so funny. She has watched it here several times before.    We had supper, and more cards were made.  She was definitely in a stamping mood today, and told me that none of her "other" Aunts had any of this kind of stuff at their houses.  She very much likes to keep busy, and always wants to know what we are going to do next!  We had more reading of the Magic Story Kingdom, and tons of "What question would you like to ask me next, Aunt Elaine?", when Aunt Elaine was quiet.  Aunt Elaine didn't have any questions, but Brooke likes to be always talking so I would have to think of something to ask her or....she is asking me questions, "Like did you ever have a husband?"  LOL Or what does that mean....on my Maxine sign that Diane gave me as a joke. That is definitely disappearing before Mason can read so I don't have to go through that again!!!!! Any whoo....I'd better high tail it to bed, as I am sure I will have another 8'oclock wake up call!  Elaine

Note Cards for Mom

These are a batch of note cards I made for my mom for Christmas.  She had told me that she would like some note cards.  I went through my scrap bins to make these, although you would never know it.  I chose a lot of pastels as Mom likes pretty feminine cards.  The flower is cut and embossed with the Simple Flower Embosslit  Die and the leaves were cut from the Birds and Blooms Die.  The background is embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.

This morning I met my sister and her family, plus Mom, at Pamida as they wanted to hit the after Christmas sales.  Then we headed over to Mom's house, and I was stitching on towels while we visited, and Brooke and I were playing UNO attack.  Brooke decided that she wanted to stay with me for a few days so she is here on the couch right now.  She talks NON-STOP!!!!  And she is quite the conversationalist.  She will ask you questions to start conversations, and not simple ones either.  Things that take you off guard and that you have to think about a little before giving her an answer.  But she is definitely a delight, and so cute and funny.  She told me that my house is like the North Pole, magical, kind of like Santa's workshop, but that I don't make toys, I make stuff with fabric, and felt, and other things she said.  And that all the stuff that I make is really nice and that she likes all of it.  She also said that I am the crafter of the family, a professional crafter, and also the World's Best Crafter (along with my World's Best Aunt Title, I have held that title for many years with her).  We went up stairs to get my Magic Story Kingdom Book, that I have been reading to them for years, and even though she is 9 and is an excellent reader, she asked me to read her 2 stories out of it before she went to bed.  Brooke and Ben both love that book.  I have had it since I was 5.  Anywhooo....she loved the color of my sewing room, the futon bed, TV, etc, and she is excited about sewing tomorrow.  She said she didn't want to sew when she was tired, wanted to do it in the morning.  So you know where we will be tomorrow!   Have a great day!  Elaine

Merry Christmas Bitty Box

Recipe:  Bitty Box Die, Snowflake Punch, DSP, Stickles

I made this little box up to hold a pin that I gave for a Christmas gift.  It is so nice to have this die to run through the Big Shot, and wahlah!!!!, I instantly have a small box that is perfect for giving jewelry in and the snowflake punch is great for adding dimension to projects.  Love it!
The box is sitting on some more SEW SUITE Designer paper.  It will be available to order soon!!!!

Spiral Scarf for Jenna

Happy Christmas Eve!  I know the kids are having company tonight so there are no worries about them looking at the blog so I thought I would share with you tonight the Spiral Scarf that I crocheted for Jenna.  It turned out so pretty.  I had a great time with the Camps, Cognaics, and Dallmans last night.  I have a headache today.  That's what you get when you have 3 drinks....lol  I went over my usual limit of 2.....and 2 is rare at that!  Just finished making my pistachio tortes for tomorrow, and I am watching the movie Remember Me.  So far it is pretty good.  I hope you all are having a Merry Christmas!  Hugs!  Elaine

These boots are made for walkin'......

Who do you think is going to have the cutest feet in town!?!?!?!  Mason that's who!!!  Here is another pair of baby booties that I crocheted for him and will be sticking in his Christmas package.  The DSP under his booties is from the new Sew Suite line that will be available in January.  LOVE IT!  I have the new Occasion mini's here if you would like one early...stop over and pick one up!  This crochet pattern is available for free at Crochet Pattern Central along with other crochet pattern.
Tonight is our annual get together out at the Camp's.  Sarah and Zach will be coming up from Reedsburg, and Erin, and her family are already here.  Gerry is cooking for us on the grill.  He is a great griller...I am sure the food will be delish!  I can't wait, it should be a great time!  Elaine

Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made For Walking (1966)

Chocolate Booties for Mason

I crocheted these little booties for Mason.  He has out grown the rest of his shoes and is down to one pair.  Jen loves to accessorize his clothing and they are very careful to make sure that his hands and feet are warm.  They tend to get cold, especially his hands so a lot of time they have little mitts on his hands to keep them warm.
Today I spent the day shopping and I am exhausted.  I tried to pack too much into one day but it was fun.  I went to 3 thrift shops, picked up an order at Penney's, stocked my booth at the Dells, had lunch at Pizza Hut, and went to Walmart.  I was so tired in Walmart, that I seriously did not think I could make it up to the front of the store.  I had 3 things left on my list to find, and couldn't, and didn't have the energy to look any further.  So I checked out and headed home.  It is good to be back.  Time to hit the bed!  Later!  Elaine

Gift Card

Recipe: Stampin' UP! Stamp sets: Tags till Christmas, Delightful Decorations.  Punches: Decorative Label,  1 3/8" Circle, Round tab, Slit, and Ornament Punch.  Designer series paper, Red & White Gingham ribbon, Real Red and Garden Green Card stock, dimensionals, crochet thread, cropadile

Someone bought a gift card for some lucky person, and I made this for them to give it in.  Is it you???  Tell the Santa's in your life that this is what you would like for Christmas and maybe you will be getting one of these too!
Jenna called tonight, and she had fed Mason his first cereal and she wanted to let me know how much he liked it.  She said that the first taste he made a funny face, but then he was lapping it right up.  You are suppose to make it really thin the first time they have cereal and that is what she did.  She said he was so excited and was concentrating so hard on eating.  Every time he saw the spoon coming, he was kicking his little feet he was so excited.  She said that she must have given him 50 spoonfuls and he didn't want to quit!  He will probably be just like Antonio...a bottomless pit!  That guy can eat and eat.  He has fantastic metabolism!  Lucky guy.  I told Jen that she needed to bring his cereal along at Christmas so I could see him eat.  I have started talking to him on the phone and now he gets all quiet the minute he hears my voice.  Tonight he was trying to talk back to me.  So cute!!!  Only a few more days till I can hold my little peanut!

Button Card

I hadn't done a sketch challenge for awhile so last week I made this card doing last week's Sweet Sunday sketch challenge.  I didn't have a wide scallop punch to do the border so I punched circles out with my 1 1/4" Circle punch and I glued them to the bottom panel to make a faux scalloped border.  The measuring tape from the new Sew Suite set was stamped and cut out, and I wrapped it around the back on the right side so it gives the illusion that it really is a measuring tape.  All the other elements were cut out of the new matching designer paper.  There are 2 whole sheets in the pack of "button cards" that you can cut out!  So cool.  I added a real button to it to add some dimension and also matted it on a layer of card stock.

I had a couple of visitors today, both my mom and Susie were over for visits.  The rest of the day I spent wrapping presents.  I only have a few left to wrap.  I also crocheted 5 flowers, and started crocheting a pair of baby booties for Mason.  I just came to the computer to look up how to do a stitch.  I just love it that with in minutes, I found a 3 minute video showing how to do the stitch.  I just love my computer!!!  Such a wonderful resource!  Stay in, and stay safe!  Elaine

Sewing Tin with mini cards

Remember how I showed you a sneak peek of the Sew Suit line last week?  Here is a little General Food International Coffee tin that I altered with the new designer paper, and the front panel is made with images that I stamped from the new Sew Suite stamp set.  I made 4 matching little 3" x 3" note cards with envelopes to match to go inside of it.  The row of sewing machines I cut out of the pattern paper and then used the scalloped edge punch to make a mat underneath it.  Quick, fun and cute!  Well this little elf needs to go back to working on her Christmas gifts.  I will have lots of things to show you after the receivers have received their gifts!  Elaine

Honey Mustard Dressing

Hello!  Today I thought I would share with you my latest favorite recipe.  When I was at the quilting retreat last month at Silver Birch Ranch, one of the gals there brought Honey Mustard Dressing that she made and we dipped pretzels in it.  Well, I am a HUGE Honey Mustard fan.  I love any sort of sandwich or salad with it on, and this tasted almost identical to the stuff that I buy in the grocery section above the lettuce.  And it is kind of pricey.  So I asked this gal if she would share the recipe with me and she said sure.  It makes a big batch and is oh so good.  I had some today on a Ham and Cheese sandwich I made with romaine lettuce.  I just spread it on the bread instead of mayo or butter.  Delish!  And I have used it as salad dressing two times on salads this week and it tastes just like the store bought brand.  The original recipe calls for Koops Honey Mustard.  I used Tates today, that I had bought at Aldi's and it is great too.  Enjoy!

2 Cups of Hellman's Mayo
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup Koops Honey Mustard
1 tbsp garlic powder
red pepper flakes (I just sprinkled a little in it)

Chill for a few hours before using it.  I tried to use it right away and you can taste the sugar granules.  If it sits, the flavors and sugar all dissolves in the mayo and it tastes great!

Dish Clothes

 

Here is a bunch of dish clothes that I crocheted.  I never really liked crocheting that much but have really been enjoying it this year.  I had found a big ball of this crochet cotton at the thrift store and thought, boy, I could make a stack of dish clothes with this, and I was able to crochet 6 of them out of it.  Most of them I did last time I was in Milwaukee visiting the kids.  I am missing Mason today.  It has been two weeks since I have seen him, and that seems like about all I can stand before I get lonesome for him.  Jen says he is pulling himself up more, he can almost do a crunch.  He is reaching for his toys, chewing on his fingers, and likes to take the pacifier in and out of his mouth and play with it.  Only one more week and I will get to see him again!  I finally ventured out of the house today.  I needed to go to the bank, so made a trip to the thrift store and Family Dollar while I was out.  It felt so strange at first to be out, more like I had been in the house for 3 weeks instead of a week.  I am still in a flareup but not in quite as much pain, and the stiffness is slowly improving.  I am busy working away on my Christmas gifts in between resting.  Have a great night!  Elaine

For the Newlyweds

This is the anniversary card I made for Jenna and Antonio.  I actually made 2 of this card so that I would have one to show at my January stamping events.  It is made with the Scalloped Oval Die.  I ran it through the Big Shot twice, once with Real Red card stock, and again with Whisper White card stock.  It automatically cuts the center oval out for you.  So I took the Whisper White oval and ran it through the Big Shot again, this time with the Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder.  I also ran the Simple flower embossing die through which cuts and embosses all at the same time.  Then I took the Little Leaves die and ran it through twice with Garden Green card stock so that I would have 2 sets of leaves.  The flower is popped up with a dimensional and I used "For the Newlyweds" stamp from Teeny Tiny Wishes and stamped that with Basic Black, and then punched that out with the Modern Label punch.  I put adhesive on both ends, a dimensional in the middle to pop it up and adhered it to the card.  The finishing touch was to add some Rhinestones.  The camera doesn't do them justice, they really look awesome on the card.  This is a really fast and elegant card!

Sneak Peek.....Sew Suite Collection!

I teased you yesterday with this, and wait till you see it in person.  It is so stink'in cute!  One of the hottest trends in the stamping world is using sewing items along with stamping.  I am seeing the sewing and stamping world cross over and it is awesome as I love to do both.  Here are some of the items from the new Sew Suite Collection.  I want them ALL...and most of the new mini catalog too, but I had to stay in the budget and show some Valentine items too.  I can always order more later.  :-D  The sewing paper is some of the cutest paper I have ever seen and will be so fun to mix and match it.  Some of the papers are also available in a digital download and I purchased both the paper and element items in digital format so I will NEVER run out!  I can always just print more of it!  Love that option!  The stamp sets are adorable.....love them, and the teeny tiny pom pom trim is just cute as a button.  I am so glad that I ordered it as the book does not do it justice!  I made a couple of projects with it last night.  They turned out oh sew cute!

Sneak Peek at my Occasion Mini order

Hello!  Here is a sneak peek of some of the items that will be available for sale on January 4th from the new Occasion mini.  Fun valentine paper, valentine rub-ons, red glitter paper without the mess of glitter (you are going to love this!), and I will be showing you how to use the new letterpress plates with the big shot.  I ordered the plate Lots of Love.  And what is Valentines Day with out a heart stamp!?!?!  I chose to get an individual one but there are Valentine sets available.  I will be back tomorrow to show you the rest of my new goodies.  I am over the moon with them....I have waited for Stampin' UP! to come out with these for a long time (almost 5 years) and to have a WHOLE line of them, has me over the top in stamping heaven!  Can you guess what the line might be????  You can see tomorrow!  Elaine

Snowed In!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!  Oh...I guess it did that already!  :-D  I am snowed in...and haven't been out of the house.  I am hoping that my dad will come and plow tomorrow.
This is a different snow man towel that I have been making to sell.  I sure love their cute little faces!
No improvement from yesterday....flare wise.  I keep hoping I will wake up and find some improvement, but so far that is not happening, so I have been down in bed a lot.  But I did finish one Christmas gift I was making last night, and worked on some other Christmas projects for a while today.  I just finished stamping a couple of cards.  One of them is an anniversary card for Jenna and Antonio.  It is hard to believe that they have been married for a year already.  I made another one identical to it that I will have in January's samples to show my stamping groups.
Tomorrow, my preorder for the new Occasion mini that starts in January will be arriving.  I can't wait to play with my new goodies and make up some cool samples to show you!
Until tomorrow....stay warm!  Elaine

Pencil Holders

Good Evening peeps!  I am at the computer right now eating my supper, Spaghetti Pie (made with elk from Wayne and Susie :-), green beans and a baked potato.  YUM!
I spent most of today in bed.  I am in a flareup that started last night.  Not fun.  So I am trying to get it to settle down if I can.  I finally decided around 4 o'clock that I need to eat something today....besides Hershey's Kisses so I got up and made supper.  It sure has been pretty to watch it snow.  I love doing that!

These are some pencil holders that I made earlier in the week.  I sold some of them at Curves, and some will go to the kiddies in my life.  I used the slit punch to make slits and the pencil slides through the slots.  The piece of card stock is 2 1/2" x 3 1/2".  I used the retired stamp set Dear Friends to decorate them with, and the following punches: 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches, and the scalloped circle punch.  I also curved the corners with the corner rounder punch.  If you don't have the slit punch, a 1/2" circle punch should work.  You can find the Holiday pencils right now at Dollar Tree.  A package of 12 is $1.00.  You can't beat that!  These would make great gifts for Sunday school classes, your child's school class, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, etc!  Have fun crafting!  Elaine

Snowman Towel

Rag Bag

This is a picture of the rag bag I made while I was gone on the quilting retreat.  I had been planning on teaching this class and I now have a date set for Monday, January 31st.  It is made with the Big Shot and the scalloped square die. The flower fold die is used to make the flower that I have attached to it. I attached it to as a pin back so it is removable, and I can take it off if I want to throw the bag in the wash.  I have been using this as a purse and I just love it.  I have a plastic purse organizer in it and it fits in it perfect, and it is so easy to find everything in my purse.
I made my Cauliflower soup tonight and it sure was yummy!  I have been working on some Christmas presents today, and listening to Christmas music.  Beth was over to pick up some snail this afternoon and we had a nice little visit.  I ran over to the church this morning to pick up the snail, made a delivery, stopped at Family Dollar. I can hardly believe that today is over already.  Where do all the hours go!?!?!

Made by Joel

Do you have little ones in your life or know someone that does?  This is a fun blog with lots of kids activities.  It has lots of projects that you can make and do with them.  Check it out...and begin the fun!  Elaine

http://madebyjoel.blogspot.com/

Northern Flurries Embossing Folder

This was a real fast card.  I used Colleen's Northern Flurry embossing folder with card stock weight vellum and ran it through the big shot.  The verse is from the stamp set Christ is Born.  A little border punching and you have a quick cute card.

This afternoon, Lady Di and I took Bernie to the Rapids for his haircut.  I went to Aldi's while Di got her car washed, and then we headed over to Walmart.   I got lots of produce so I am going to be doing a lot of cooking (for a change...lol)  I am all ready for when my new slow cooker arrives from Kohl's.  But tomorrow I think I will make Cauliflower Soup.  Jenna will wish she was here, and probably Sarah too as it is a family favorite.

We decided to have supper at Culver's and we both had yummy chicken dinner's with concrete turtle shakes for dessert!  It was a fun afternoon.

Christ is Born Poinsetta Card

Tonight I had the file folder/legal pad class at the church.  We had a fun time.  I brought extra stuff so the gals could add additional decorations to it and they all were different and so cute.  I wish I had remembered my camera so that I had some pictures to show you of the ones that they made tonight.  Sandy Renner taught 2 projects after we were finished with the file folder.  One was a sliding box, and the other was a large hanging snowflake.  Both were very cute and I will load up pictures of them at a later date.

I did a bunch of paper work today, and picking up and putting away things.  Still playing catch up from all the time I have been gone to baby land!  :-)

Friends 24/7 Pizzaz Card Box

This is the card box class I taught a few weeks ago.  I love how this turned out.  So elegant and so cute.  It was a big hit.  This project uses the following Stampin' UP! Products:  Friends 24/7 Stamp Set, Big Shot, Scalloped Circle #2 Die, Vintage Wall paper embossing folder, Decorative Label Punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Itty Bitty Bits stamp set and matching punch,  Soft Suede and Chocolate Chip Ink, Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze, and retired Baja Breeze Ribbon.

Tomorrow is the file folder portfolio class.  Call me if you wish to join us!  Elaine