Sunday, October 30, 2011

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Flapper hat

Side view of the hat.
 A side view and close up of the crocheted flower on the baby ear flapper hat size 12 to 24 months.  Sandy H. had asked for a closer picture of the ear flap, hopefully you can see better the ear flap on this one.  It is under and to the left of the flower.
Forward facing picture.
Wouldn't a little girl look sweet in this cute hat!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Sarah and the Scarecrow

Zach and Sarah sitting in there yard.
Sarah with one of the scarecrows she made!


If You're Feeling blue - try painting yourself a different color

More book marks with another cute saying.  It is always fun to have cool book marks when you are reading.

I am back home after being gone for a week.  I left for Milwaukee a week ago Thursday and I stayed with Jenna and her family until Monday.  I had a great time with them as usual, and it was so fun to see all of Mason's new tricks!  On Monday I started back this way and stayed at Sarah's until this Thursday.  Tuesday was bring Mom to work day (as Sarah called it) and we went to Madison with Vicki (Sarah's mother-in-law) to shop for scarecrow supplies and other things.  On the way home we went to Tanger Outlet Mall in WI Dells and I got to see all the cute fall displays they have set up at the mall.  Absolutely adorable pumpkin patches with scarecrows, gourd towers, etc. JerryD's Landscaping, Sarah's in laws do all the landscaping, decorating, and snow plowing for Tanger and the Wilderness.  On Wednesday, Sarah went to work and I stayed at the house and baked three loaves of banana bread for her, finished crocheting a cowl for her I started on Monday when I arrived, and a dish cloth for her.  She looks adorable with the cowl on.....she is suppose to send me a picture for the blog, and I will be able to show it to you then.  Thursday was bring your mom to work day (again) as it was cold out and they were going to be working indoors.  They have been making and redoing there scare crows and will soon be changing things over to Christmas.  Next week they will start decorating for Christmas.  They are now making ice skaters and we worked on the very first one.  When we left, Vicki was finishing the ice skates.  She was absolutely adorable.  Too cute.  In between things, I worked on cutting and sewing bodies.  I got nine finished so they will haves some ahead which Sarah said would be really nice for them as they could just grab one and start decorating her.  I saw some of the outfits they had for future skaters and they were very cute!  I showed them how to make a loopy flower out of felt and they used it to embellish the skaters hat.  Hopefully I will get a picture of the finished skater so I can show you what they look like.
I have been unpacking, doing laundry and putting away stuff today.  Plus I made a trip to the library and to Practical Cents.  I found a great office chair, amongst other things, and I am so tickled about that.  I have been looking for one for quite some time.....probably over a year.  It was really a blessing to find a like new one for a reasonable price!  My other project today was to switch my clothes over from wire hangers to plastic ones, and I sorted an organized it all while I was at it.  It is nice to have that project done!
I started reading the book The Secrets of the FBI during rest time.  I finished reading the first chapter and it is pretty interesting so far.  I had a looonnnnng nap and just woke up around 9pm, and had a late supper!  I have had a great week but it is good to be home!  Elaine

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Fall colors

When I started decorating this note pad, I wasn't too thrilled with this background paper, but thought I would "use it up".  But after I got it finished and pulling all the colors together...it ended up being my favorite one out of the batch!  :-D  So it pays to get out of your comfort zone and work with some color combinations that you wouldn't normally choose!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Creativity is rarely Tidy

Creativity is rarely Tidy!  That's my motto....LOL   Another cute saying from the Darcies sewing set stamp set that I used for these book marks.

I went to church this morning with Jenna, Antonio, and Mason this morning.  Mason fell asleep on the way there so I stayed in the van with him and let him sleep.  We went in right after the sermon was over.

We just finished having some pizza for lunch, and I think Jenna is going to lay down and take a nap.  Mason is running around chattering at the moment.  He has a full belly and is a happy camper!  Elaine

Saturday, October 22, 2011

New born baby bear hat

Today's project to show is a cute little new born to 3 months baby bear hat.  I made a few of these in brown and brown variegated yarn last spring and sold several of them at the flea market this summer.  I have it stretched over a jar so that it would stand up to photo graph it.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Rummaging Away











Today, Jenna, Mason, Val, Emma and I went to a huge rummage sale that was inside a Christian School on 76th street down the street from Olive Garden.  It was the third day of the sale and they still had ROOMS full of stuff and everything was half price.  It was fun to look at all the stuff.  I guess they have been having this sale for over 40 years according to one of the workers and when we checked out, they gave us a slip of paper with the dates of the sale they are having in May.  I guess it is just nuts when it opens on the first day.  Then we went to a resale store called Mommy and me, and Jen and Val both bought some clothes for the kids.  Mason fell asleep before getting to the next store so I stayed in the van with him and both Mason and Grammie had a much needed nap.  A half a sleep Mason then had a haircut and we took off for home for lunch.  Jenna was tuckered out so we visited and I crocheted and Mason ran around happily chattering.  We went out again in the late afternoon, then spent the evening visiting while Mason slept.  We were concerned he may be up all night but he went back to sleep after being up for about 45 minutes so hopefully he will stay down for the night.  Jen says he has been sleeping a lot this week and she thinks he may be going through a growth spurt.  This little chica better head to bed as she has babysitting duty in the morning while Antonio (and Jen) go to Antonio's last adult confirmation class.  Then he will be able to become a member of the church that they attend.  That's all for today folks!  Good night!!!  Elaine

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Winter is near

I had a great evening with Jenna and Mason.  Mason was so happy to see me, he was just a kicking his little feet in his car seat!  He toddles all over the place.  He looks like a drunken sailor, but walks quite deliberately and doesn't fall unless he wants to get down and crawl.  He said Grammie several times tonight which pleased me to know end!



Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Gift Card Holders

These are some gift card holders I finished.  I made forty of these!
This is what it looks like opened up.  The strip of pattern paper is running across the "pocket" for a gift card and note to be put in the little pocket.  Velcro hold them shut.





































Susie stopped over for a visit and to drop off my stamping order today.  I paid bills today and ran errands, did some cleaning, and baked Wild Berry muffins and made Chocolate Chip bars.  Right now I think I will work on packaging up some of the stuff I have been making, as my pile is over flowing!

Recipe: SU Stamp Sets: Four Frames and Great Friend, Punches: Decorative Label, Scalloped Oval, Large Oval, Assorted Card Stock, Assorted DSP, Assorted Ribbon

Baby earflapper hat

This is a new baby ear flapper hat that I crocheted this weekend.  It is a size 12 to 24 months.
A close up of the ear flap and hat ties.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Notepad

My husband lets me buy all the fabric I can hide....

Here are some more book marks made with the PTI book mark die, and that cute Darcie sewing stamp set.  Quilters are known to "hide" fabric...not me...as I don't/won't hide my fabric from any one, but I have read that women hide it from their spouses.  They hide it in the trunk of the car, under beds, closets, where ever they can find a good hiding spot.  So this will be a fun book mark for the quilters, especially the fabric hiders!

I had supper tonight with Mom and Dad.  Sarah was suppose to come too, but she got half way here, and Zach called her to tell her that he could not find their cat Whiskey.  He had called and looked for Whiskey all around the house and he did not come out.  They are having a new furnace installed and he was afraid that the cat had got out of the house.  Zach was headed to school, he is taking an IV Tech course right now, his final exam is on Wednesday, so he had to leave.  So Sarah turned around to head home and called us to let us know that she wouldn't be able to come for dinner.  Sarah was very upset....Whiskey and Hunter (the dog) are her babies, and she was pretty frantic that she wouldn't be able to find him in the dark.  I was going to go help her look for him, but my bearing on the van won't be fixed till Thursday, so I didn't dare risk it, but I told Sarah that I really thought he was hiding and was scared from them banging on the metal, etc. installing the furnace.  My cats were terrified when my new roof was being put on.  She didn't think this was the case as they have had workers in the house before and it didn't bother Whiskey.  But fortunately, I was right, Sarah's mother-in-law found Whiskey under the bed.  Sarah said that she had been in the bedroom before this calling for him and he didn't come out.  I told Sarah that he probably could tell by her voice that she was upset.  She said to me, "You are probably right Mom", as Vicki was very calm and had been walking around, looking under things calling his name.  Whiskey stuck his head out from under the bed when she called his name and she got a hold of him.  Sarah said that he was so upset.  His little heart was just racing, and that he did not want to go downstairs to the main level, nor did he want to go in the basement where his littler box and food are, and that he got really squirmy when she took him down there so that he could see everything was okay in the basement.  As soon as she set him down on the basement floor, he ran back up the steps.  She said that most of the night that he was upstairs.  When I was talking to her later in the evening, he was on the main floor but was still fearful, and would keep looking around.  I told Sarah that he didn't like "his space" being changed, nor the noise, and perhaps one of the workers didn't like cats either, who knows.   But I am guessing that he was really upset about the noise and them tearing his space apart.   She said that he does consider that his space, and that one of the workers said he was running around nuts on the canning jar shelves in the basement.  Poor baby, he is normally such a laid back cat.  I know my cats do not like things moved around, especially in the bathroom where their food and litter box is.  Any whoo...I suggested and she said that she was going to do this....to lock him up in their bedroom upstairs with his food and litter box, so he would feel safe (hopefully) and they wouldn't have to worry about someone letting him out by accident.  So keep Whiskey in your prayers while this furnace is being installed!  :-D  Elaine

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Still slaving away...

I can tell the temperature must be dropping...the furnace is running.  I have one more lawn chair to drag to the garage and I will have everything put away for winter.
I have been crocheting away and catching up on my recorded programs.  I now have 90 hours free (out of 100) that can be recorded on which is rare for me.  Normally I have 10 to 20 hours free as I am usually "behind".  The pile of stuff that I have finished keeps getting larger which is great!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

A Fat Quarter is not a body part

These are some sewing book marks that I made last week.  For those of you who do not sew and do not know.....A Fat Quarter is not a body part!  Fat Quarters are pieces of fabric that are a quarter of a yard of fabric but are not cut in a "traditional" quarter of a yard.  Instead of being 9" x 44/45", they are cut "fat".  They are 18" x 22" and sewers love to collect them to have lots of different colors in their sewing stash.  You know...who ever dies with the most fabric wins! LOL   They are also sold in bundles of matching colors which makes for fun projects.  So now you have had your "sewing" lesson for today!  :-D

Crochet Headbands

Friday, October 14, 2011

Little boys hat

This is a little boy's hat that I crocheted, with a strap and brim on it.  It is size 12 to 24 months.  Perhaps I will take it to Milwaukee and have Mason model it!  :-D
Hats are kind of hard to photograph with out a model so please bear with me!
Another busy day in Mayberry.  I am working on gift card holders right now.  I have 40 of them in progress.  The assembly work is all done.  Now I just need to finish decorating them.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Ear Warmer

A denim color earwarmer/headband.  Above is a close up of the flower and below is a full size picture of the headband.  It has two button holes so you can adjust it to fit your head size.
I had a busy day today, with bible study in the morning, and I ran some errands afterwards.  I donated 4 pictures out of my collection to the church.  Two of them are going in the concord room where we hold our stamping events and the other two will be going in the hallways I think.  Our church is going through a redecorating process right now, and I am trying to downsize.  I am glad that they will be enjoyed by everyone, as I have enjoyed them all these years.  A win win for everyone.
This afternoon I got my oil changed, and I need to have the right wheel bearing repaired so I am going to be grounded for the next week till the van goes in the shop on Thursday the 20th.  I had the other 3 bearings done 2 years ago, so hopefully things will be good for a while!
Not much crafting got done today.  I crocheted a couple of flowers in the morning, stamped a few bookmarks tonight, and spent several hours punching designer paper strips with the scalloped edge punch.  The endless project of making use of my scraps.  It will be nice to have a whole bunch of them ready when I am working on projects.  Until tomorrow....Elaine

H is for Hat

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

M is for Mason

At our girls night out in September at Lady Di's house, we made these scrap books.  Di told us what supplies we would need to bring, and we all made these in different colors.  I chose to put Mason's initial on the front of the scrap book which only took a few minutes to cut out with my Big Shot, but it has taken me a month to get done!  LOL  It was in the pile of projects to finish.  Which I am proud to say that I have finished the pile that this was in!!!
I am now going to show you the book flipped open with pictures of my little cutie pie.  This Grammie sure can not wait to see him next week.  He is walking now, and I can't wait to see him toddling around!
The nice thing about this being on a ring is that I can add pictures to it as he grows.  The gals were telling me that I should add a picture of him growing each year.  A very good idea!
Perhaps it should be called, "the many faces of Mason"!  :-D
While I was talking to Jenna on the phone today, he was getting into the tissue box, and was eating a kleenex!  LOL  She was taking the box away from him and she told me that he even knows to take the kleenex out of his mouth when she catches him at it and give it to her when he gets caught at it!  I thought that was so funny.  She says he knows he is not suppose to be doing it but does it anyways.  :-D
I am hoping that when I visit, that the weather will be nice again so that we can take him to the park.  He really likes to play in the sand, and when they were there last week, he pitched a fit when she took him out of it to go home.
Today I got my hair cut, and it feels great to have it short again.  It is so much easier to take care of.  I finished 3 large notebooks today, 32 bookmarks, and worked on cutting more bookmarks out with the big shot, and also punched up a stack of scraps with the scalloped edge die.  I even got a nap in, even though I have been working up a storm.  I will have lots of projects to share in the upcoming days!!!  Have a great Wednesday!!!  Elaine

Monday, October 10, 2011

A new skinny scarf

I found a new pattern for a different skinny scarf.  They can be worn outdoors, but they are meant to be worn indoors as a decorative scarf.  Scarves are really big in the fashion world right now.

Red baby headband

Monday, Monday...

Here is another hat I finished last weekend.  I did a bunch more crocheting today, and tonight was stamping with my buddies.  A fun time as usual!!!  Elaine