STAMP YOUR HEART OUT!

I have moved!

2012-01-20T13:39:00.000-06:00

I am all moved into my new apartment and absolutely love it! I have designated spaces for stamping, sewing, and the computer. I bought a new recliner and I am loving it! I had my first nap in it yesterday by accident. I was sitting looking out the window and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. So far, the only thing I miss about the old house is being able to park right next to the door and haul things in. My little red shopping cart is now getting a work out hauling things back and forth in and out of the apartment. I still have a lot of work at the old house yet, as I need to get things packed upstairs, and put into storage, but I am very happy to be moved. My new mailing address is PO Box 314, Friendship, WI 53934 if you would like to drop me a line!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-11T14:37:00.000-06:00

I apologize for the lack of blog posts but I have not been crafting lately. I have been busy sorting and packing as I will soon be moving into an apartment. What a huge job, but I am very excited about it. Jenna and her family will be moving into my home. Antonio will stay in Milwaukee until he can find a job here. What a happy exciting time in our lives! I hope the New Year is treating you all well! Love, Elaine

Antonio plays Santa!

2011-12-21T14:14:00.000-06:00

Jenna called this morning and Mason and her had just got home from a breakfast Christmas party at Olive Garden. It was mainly for the kids she said. Antonio ended up being Santa Claus for it. She said that he was practicing his "HO HO" last night, trying to do it so Mason wouldn't hear him and "give it away" today. She said he was so funny to listen too! I can just imagine, as Antonio is a very animated person so I am sure it was quite humorous. I asked her if Mason recognized him in the Santa suit and she said no. That he wasn't really interested in Santa. That he wanted to get down right away and toddle around and meet all the babies and kids that were there. He is very social! She said she did get a few cute pictures of him on Santa's lap! Edith, Jenna and Antonio's sister-in-law put this picture on face book, so I snagged it to show you. This is Edith sitting with Santa in this photo. Mason was excited when he got to see his Dad in his chef coat and he went toddling over to him. Mason received a puzzle and a few little toys so he was tickled, and he fell asleep on the ride home as he had tired himself out!

I know it is has been a long "spell" since I have posted. I spent two weeks in Milwaukee with the kids and had the flu while I was there along with everyone else! I have been busy doing craft shows and this week I have my Tastefully Simple and crafts set up at Curves. I have been crocheting up a storm for orders and haven't had time to take pictures, but it has been items that you have seen before, only I have been making things in certain colors for special orders.

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season! Love, Elaine

2011-11-28T23:50:00.000-06:00

I made 18 of these snowman candy wrappers today. It was a fun project. It is hard to tell in this picture but the scarves are green and are made of fleece. The hats were made out of a blazer that I recycled.
I had my mini card carrier class tonight and it was a lot of fun. We had a great time visiting while everyone was working.
I am a tired camper so I am going to scoot to bed. Have a great day and thank you to everyone that has been leaving comments. It makes my day when I get one. Sometimes when you are doing a blog, and you don't receive any comments, you feel like you are talking to yourself! LOL

Tommorrow nights class

2011-11-27T19:29:00.000-06:00

Card carrier that we will be making tomorrow night.

	Hello! Tomorrow night I will be teaching this class. It is a mini tote filled with 6 matching cards with envelopes. The class is featuring the stamp set With All My Heart and the matching punch. The class starts at 5:30pm and will be held at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Adams. Cost of the class is $10.00. Let me know if you would like to come! Elaine


Side view of carrier.

Ear Warmers 3

2011-11-26T21:25:00.000-06:00

Wow...has it been some weekend. It was another busy day at the Taste Tour in Westfield. I made lots of new friends, the vendors were all like family by the end of the weekend! A lot of them plan on coming over to the flea market this summer to sell so I will get to see them again there and one of the gals from Berlin plans on coming over and we will go for lunch and to the thrift shops. That will be fun. I took two orders this weekend for earwarmers and need to get those finished up. The one just needs a button sew on and that will be done. I stopped at Pamida on the way home and picked up some yarn so that I can start on the other one. I will drop it off in Westfield on my way to Milwaukee. I am looking forward to having tomorrow off to relax and sleep in!!!

Baby hat

2011-11-25T18:54:00.000-06:00

A very busy day at the craft show. Sales were very good and I am a happy camper! I was tickled to see some familiar faces today. It is always good to see old friends.....and I love making new ones too! I am off to hit the hay for awhile. It's been a very long day, and I am starting to get a headache. If you get a chance, stop over at the New Beginnings Church on County Highway E by the Haystack at Westfield. They have wonderful roast beef sandwiches for sale, really nice plates of Christmas cookies, and a real nice assortment of vendors. I hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Elaine

Size 0 - 3 month baby cloche hat

Baby bear hat

2011-11-24T20:41:00.000-06:00

We had a fun thanksgiving day today. Lenore brought 3 different gingerbread house kits that we decorated and it was so much fun. I enjoyed the quality time with Brooke and Ben. I am headed off to bed now. Big day tomorrow and Saturday with selling at the craft show in Westfield during the Taste Tour. I will be at the New Beginnings church near the Haystack on Hwy E. They will be selling food and will have a bake sale going on too! Stop out and see me! Elaine

Baby Bear Hat size 12 to 24 months

Ear warmers 2

2011-11-23T20:01:00.000-06:00

I set up my space today for the Taste Tour. Man...what a job. It took me 4 hours to get it how I wanted it to be, and I am bringing back with me a few things on Friday morning to tweak it a bit. They didn't have the heat on, and man am I hurting. My muscles can't take the cold, and the combination of bending and lifting, plus the cold is not good. So I am hurting, but hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I will survive...I always do!!! I am going to go crawl under the covers and try and warm up!

Pretty little baby hat

2011-11-22T17:53:00.000-06:00

Size 0 - 3 month baby cloche hat

I have been busy getting ready for the craft show on Friday. I found out today, that I will be able to go set up tomorrow, so I am going to go do that. It will be good to have it done before Thanksgiving and to not be worrying about it!

New ear warmers

2011-11-21T22:21:00.000-06:00

These are the new ear warmers I have been making. I have a big stack of them done in many different colors. They button in the back by your neck, and are adjustable.

Baby cloche hat with brown flower

2011-11-20T12:56:00.000-06:00

This is one of the hats I made yesterday. It fits a newborn to size 3 month baby.

Green baby hat

2011-11-19T21:04:00.002-06:00

Wow...has it been some weekend. It was another busy day at the Taste Tour in Westfield. I made lots of new friends, the vendors were all like family by the end of the weekend! A lot of them plan on coming over to the flea market this summer to sell so I will get to see them again there and one of the gals from Berlin plans on coming over and we will go for lunch and to the thrift shops. That will be fun. I took two orders this weekend for headbands and need to get those finished up. The one just needs a button sew on and that will be done. I stopped at Pamida on the way home and picked up some yarn so that I can start on the other one. I will drop it off in Westfield on my way to Milwaukee. I am looking forward to having tomorrow off to relax and sleep in!!!

The last of the gift card holders

2011-11-18T23:43:00.000-06:00

Earflapper Hat

2011-11-17T20:15:00.000-06:00

Can you see snoopy little Taffy's paw's on the right side of this photo? She sure likes to be in the middle of things!
I imagine you have been wondering if crocheting won out last night or sleep? And most of you who know the "night owl" Elaine are going to say crocheting. WRONG! I was losing so much steam that by the time I left the computer, I knew I had to go to bed as I was running on empty. So I was in bed by 9 and was asleep by 9:30 and I didn't get up till about 9:30 this morning! I was tuckered out I guess! I did get some crocheting done today though. I am getting a very nice selection of different color headbands made. I spent most of the morning cleaning, and had the furnace man here. I have a good sounding furnace now-but a much lighter wallet. :-( Oh well....that's the way it goes.

Gone bummin..

2011-11-16T20:01:00.000-06:00

This little beanie I was working on last time I was at Jenna's house. I put it on Mason's head to see if it would fit and it was a little tight. He took it off his head, and handed it back to me. Almost like he was trying to tell me that it didn't fit right and that I could have it back. Too funny.

I went to the Rapids this afternoon to grocery shop at Aldi's. I am all stocked up again. I also found a bunch of yarn at the thrift shops, and made a quick trip into Walmart. Now I am off to crochet, although I really feel like I could lay down and go to sleep! We will see what wins........crocheting or sleep!

BIG News!

2011-11-15T23:28:00.000-06:00

Yellow Baby Cloche Hat size Newborn to 3 months

Hello!!!! Today was a day that I have been waiting for a long time. Jenna had her ultra sound today that determined the sex of the baby she is carrying. AND........drum roll..........we are getting a girl!!!! WHOOO HOOOOO!!!! Can you tell I am excited!?!?!?

From day one, Antonio has said that this baby is a girl. Jenna wasn't sure. She said that his being so positive about it being a girl had her "radar" off and she didn't know. We both thought maybe it was a boy. That was on my last visit there. We have been talking about it the past couple of days, and I said to her that I think that we didn't want to get our hopes up, and we would love a healthy baby boy too. She said yeah Mom, that really is how I feel. BUT....I said to her yesterday, tomorrow is the big day, you will be calling to tell me that you are having a girl.....and sure enough....that came true! So, we are all thrilled! I can't wait to start making little girl things! Wouldn't this hat look pretty on a little girl!!!! :-D

Hair clips

2011-11-14T22:15:00.000-06:00

Pins

2011-11-13T23:36:00.000-06:00

These are flower pins that I put together on Friday. I had been making the flowers and throwing them in a box. I did the assembly work while watching movies on Net Flix. I love having the little TV in the craft room. It sure makes the time fly!

Baby Cloche Hats

2011-11-12T18:47:00.000-06:00

I have made 3 hats like this one. One is for newborn to 3 months, 3 months to 6 months, and 6 months to 12 months. I am currently working on one in yellow that will be size 3 to 6 months.

Baby Mittens

2011-11-11T14:55:00.000-06:00

This is the first pair of mittens I made last week and after I got them done, I decided that they were too small for Mason so they are going in the "sell" pile. I am going to be set up at the Taste Tour in Westfield the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. I will be in the church that participates that is near the Haystack on Country Truck E. Stop over and say "hi"!

Thrift shop fun!

2011-11-11T14:48:00.000-06:00

I just got back from going up town to run some errands. Practical Cents was calling my name...lol....and I understood why when I got there. It was half off the entire store today. So...I thought it would be fun to show you what I all picked up for a mere $10.61 !!!! Some of it isn't for me, I got a few things for Jerry D's to use for scarecrow and skater making.

Doilies, gold strung beads, pearls, and strung pearls. The blue bags is 5 yards of blue fringe.

This is the first picture I took and you can see that Taffy is up there snooping, she wanted to see what I bought. She had to "touch" the jingle bells, and she knocked them off the table. In this photo we have tiny wooded spools which I plan on covering with pattern paper. Assorted buttons, brown buttons, beautiful fall colored pom poms in an assortment of sizes, a new spool of lavender thread.

A better look at the blue fringe in this photo, magnetic sheets (you will see a future big shot project with theses), a bag of really nice ribbons for card making.

A full skein of yarn, two balls of yarn, a better look at the jingle bells, (note they are from wool worth, remember the old wool worth stores?) and thread.

A full spool of pink lace, 2 packages of wiggley eyes, a package of decoupage tissue (I thought that would be fun for card making, or to decorate candles)

A bag of pink fringe, and a bag of yarn that is wound on cards, a peek at the pack of doilies.

I haven't opened this up yet, but it has a full skein of yarn, a crochet hook, and some started project that I will probably pull apart for the yarn, and use the yarn for something else. We will see what it looks like once I open the bag.

This is very thick yarn/cord that I thought would make good scarecrow hair.

I picked this up for Sarah. She asked me to look for solid color plates for her. She wants a bunch of them to do a mixy matchy look when she has large groups over for holidays and parties. She only wants the big plates, and normally I wouldn't have picked this up, but at half price, I figured she could give a plate of cookies on the small plate to someone, and fill up the mug with cocoa packets, cookies, or something as a gift.
Well...I suppose I should get busy and put some of those craft supplies to use!!! Have a great weekend. Elaine

Mittens for Mason

2011-11-10T14:26:00.000-06:00

I made these mittens for Mason last week and gave them to him on Saturday. He loved them and was toddling around carrying them (and tripping on them!) Jenna had asked me to make him a pair of red one's as she has a red hat and matching scarf for him. I decided to put them on a string as he is always pitching things from the stroller, or shopping cart when no one is looking. Last winter when I was there, we had to go to a restaurant they had been too, to pick up a boot he had slung off, and no one had noticed till later. Little dickens! LOL So Grammie decided to out smart him on the mittens and attach them to a string that threads through his coat and sleeves.

Puppy Hat

2011-11-10T14:17:00.000-06:00

I have been crocheting up a storm, and this is a puppy hat that I made for Mason, that I am saving for Christmas. I love how it turned out, and I am sure he will look adorable in it. He loves dogs so I am sure he will love this hat.

Hard at work

2011-11-08T22:42:00.000-06:00

Good Evening-
Another busy day in Mayberry. I had company in the morning, cut up 2 sweaters, and 3 jumpers and felted them, folded clothes, marked and packaged items for sale, and crocheted flowers and headbands. I am probably forgetting something, but that is what I can think of at the moment. Any who it has been non stop this afternoon and evening. Stay safe tomorrow in the snow storm! Elaine

A new picture of Mason and I

2011-11-07T00:13:00.000-06:00

My sister took this picture of Mason and I yesterday at Fall Chili and Cheer. Mason was starting to get sleepy. A few bars of "Miss Mousey...." and he was starting to shut those little peepers!

Today, Diane and I went to Darin Renner's funeral. It was very sad but a beautiful tribute to Darin, his life, and how much he was loved. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the Renner/Petersen families, and friends, and family of Darin.

We decided to go for a late lunch to Hwy 13 and 21 and we had a nice long visit. The first time we have been able to get together for several weeks, although Di did stop over on Thursday for a quick visit while she was in town to get groceries. I took a much needed nap in the early evening and I cut the materials for my Top Note Box and card class that I will be teaching tomorrow night.

Fall Fun Day

2011-11-06T01:09:00.000-05:00

A great time was had by all today at Fall Fun Day. We had 3 banquet tables of wonderful food to choose from. There was pumpkin bowling the little kids enjoyed, and turkey trot races were enjoyed by the adults of all ages. They were fun to watch. The older kids made scarecrow's out of brown paper bags, and little Mason was sitting on my lap while they were doing that, scribbling with a pencil in each hand, happy as a clam. He fell asleep in my arms and probably slept for about an hour and a half with all the noise going on around him. Little Olivia and Henry, Sarah and Zach's niece and nephew were adorable as always, and Olivia decided that I could be her Grandma too. She was telling me that she only has "one" Grandma, when she has many Grandma's, which those of us around thought was pretty funny. Lots of photographs were taken, and all the tables were playing board games. A fun afternoon, that will be come an annual tradition.

It's the weekend!!!

2011-11-05T01:22:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is our Fall Fun and Cheer Day, and it is also our Steffen Thanksgiving get together. I am in charge of the craft project and we will be making paper bag scare crows. Every one is bringing a dish to pass, and I made sugar cookies. I did pumpkin faces, and wrote all kinds of words on them about things that happen in fall, like "rake", "pie", "trick", "leaves", to name a few. It should be an interesting mix of people there, as anyone could invite who ever they want to come. I know a lot of Zach's family is coming, and there friends. I am really looking forward to it. It should be a fun day! Elaine

Sew Much Fabric Sew Little Time

2011-11-03T22:25:00.000-05:00

Another saying from the Darcies Sewing Stamp set.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T00:48:00.000-05:00

Could there be a cuter "Shark" than this !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I don't think so!!! :-D

I asked Jen how he liked being in his costume (before I saw the pictures). I wondered how he would like it as he has been bad about ripping bib's and hat's off. If he doesn't want something on, he figures a way to get it off! When I was pushing him around in his stroller, he was yanking at his sweater, I think he wanted it off but he was strapped in, and couldn't figure how to get it off. Jenna said that to get him to leave his hat on, that they have started clapping and cheering after they put it on his head. So, now every time they put his hat on his head, he toddles around clapping. What ever works I guess. LOL So...... when they put his costume on, they did the same thing and it worked as he loves being the center of attention. It won't be long and he will have some competition in that department. We find out in two weeks if the new baby will be a boy or girl. I can't wait!!!!!

You make me Smile all over my face

2011-11-01T00:26:00.000-05:00

You make me "Smile all over my face" book marks!

I worked on cutting out more book marks with the big shot plus ran a bunch of scraps through it also while watching a movie on Netflix. I moved the TV to one of the tables in the craft room and I love the new location as I can work and watch now. I actually watched 2 movies today while working. So fun, and the time just flies. I also was working on some new butterfly pins that I am making. I should have pictures of them soon to show you. Plus I started on a pair of little red mittens for Mason. Jenna found Mason a real nice hat and scarf set while I was visiting, at Children's Orchard, a resale shop. They look like new. I finished crocheting the puppy hat last night and it turned out adorable. The mittens I want to get done and give to Jenna on Saturday when I see them, but the hat I will save to put in his Christmas package.

Happy Halloween Weekend!

2011-10-30T15:29:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a good time with their little trick and treetstors!

Flapper hat

2011-10-29T15:21:00.000-05:00

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!

Sarah and the Scarecrow

2011-10-28T22:55:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-28T22:41:00.000-05:00

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

Fall colors

2011-10-27T23:49:00.000-05:00

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!

Creativity is rarely Tidy

2011-10-23T14:23:00.000-05:00

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

New born baby bear hat

2011-10-22T01:21:00.002-05:00

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.

Rummaging Away

2011-10-21T23:47:00.000-05:00

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

Winter is near

2011-10-20T19:59:00.005-05:00

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!

Gift Card Holders

2011-10-19T19:58:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-19T01:12:00.000-05:00

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.

Notepad

2011-10-18T23:21:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-18T00:43:00.000-05:00

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

Still slaving away...

2011-10-16T22:33:00.000-05:00

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!

A Fat Quarter is not a body part

2011-10-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-15T00:21:00.000-05:00

Little boys hat

2011-10-14T00:45:00.000-05:00

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.

Ear Warmer

2011-10-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-12T00:03:00.000-05:00

M is for Mason

2011-10-11T23:59:00.000-05:00

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

A new skinny scarf

2011-10-10T22:27:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-10T22:21:00.000-05:00

Monday, Monday...

2011-10-10T22:19:00.000-05:00

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

Crochet Hat

2011-10-09T13:26:00.000-05:00

Baby Headbands

2011-10-09T13:15:00.001-05:00

Some fun baby headbands I made. Now I need a baby girl model! LOL

Top Note Card Box

2011-10-06T21:58:00.000-05:00

This is the project I am going to be teaching on Saturday at the church. It is a card box with an acetate window, and 6 matching cards with envelopes that are stored inside the box. What a lovely gift this would make for that special friend or family member. This next photo is a picture of the side view of the box.

Some of the beautiful, quilt cards. I stood one up to show you it standing up, the other photo is looking down at them in the box. I love the Beau Chateau paper that I made this with. Such a fun, shabby look to it.

Getting this made, and getting all the kits ready for Saturday took up most of the day. I did have some company today too. Susie was here in the morning and Di was here in the afternoon, plus I got a nap in. I had that earlier than normal so I should be able to get down to bed fairly early tonight! Have a great Friday! Elaine

Recipe: All items are SU: Oval All Stamp Set, Scalloped Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Top Note Die, Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Taffetta Ribbon, Beau Chateau DSP, Pink Piroquette and Very Vanilla Card Stock, Soft Suede Ink

Fun book marks

2011-10-05T23:06:00.000-05:00

Today I finished up packing the flea market stall for the season, and went to the library. I still need to unload stuff out of the van, and take care of the stuff that is in the kitchen. Always something to do around here. I finished 50 book marks today and now am working on a different style.

Here is another picture of my big pile of them! I was telling my mom tonight, between notebooks, and book marks, it will probably take me a whole day to get them all packed and marked in there sleeves! I guess I will be staying out of trouble for awhile!

Recipe: Paper Trey Inc Stamps: All Booked Up and Flower Fushion 1, Assorted Stampin' UP! Card Stocks and DSP, SU Always Artichoke Ink, Memento Black Ink, SU Two Tags Die, Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch

Last of the mini note books

2011-10-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

Yeah!!!! They are all finished. Plus I cut out 50 book marks with the Big Shot today, and made homemade Cauliflower Soup. Yum Yum!!! They were fun working on but I am glad that project is over and I can move on to something else!

Scrap books

2011-10-04T21:37:00.000-05:00

Bible Verse Notepads

2011-10-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Here are some more bible verse notepads. I love my little Plain Jane stamp sets from Verve!

Mini Scrapbook

2011-10-03T23:51:00.000-05:00

This is a mini scrap book that I altered. I love that cute little owl!

Work at the Sweat Shop continues...

2011-10-03T23:46:00.000-05:00

Well, the flea market is officially over. I packed up my craft items yesterday and brought them home. I still need to pack up the card rack and my Tastefully Simple items. I ran out of boxes or I would have done that yesterday. I am working on sorting and repacking things together as I have the crafts from the Dells home too.
Today, I finished 14 notebooks, and worked on running more scraps through the Sidekick. I am hoping to finish the notebooks up tomorrow and move on to something else. We will see how it goes! Enjoy this beautiful weather! Elaine

A BURRRR....day!

2011-10-01T21:56:00.001-05:00

It was a little bit nippy at the flea market this morning. It got better in the afternoon. I was bundled up with a turtle neck, sweatshirt, 2 pair of pants, 2 pair of socks, and a winter jacket on. Tomorrow is the last "official" day of being open. Stop down and say "hi!"! Elaine

Another episode of.....What will $10.00 buy in the thrift store today!

2011-09-30T16:26:00.000-05:00

I just arrived back home from being gone for the day. I went to the Dells this morning and packed up my craft stuff to bring back home with me. I had a gift card for Kohl's from my birthday, so decided to head over there, and I found some nice sweaters and a vest. The leaves are very pretty in the Dells/Lyndon Station area. I think we are going to have a beautiful fall this year. As I am arriving back to town, I see that Practical Cents has the entire store for half price, so I decided to check it out. It is always a good time to pick up things that they have over priced on a half price day. Hee Hee. So let's take a look at my treasures! All this for ten bucks! In the top picture, are two bags of glue sticks for my hot glue gun, and a mini magazine rack

Picture number two has a brand new pair of jeans on the bottom of the pile, 3 skeins of yarn, and a HUGE container of stick pins. Pins have become very expensive and I was just talking to my mom about that a few weeks ago as I bought a small pack in the fabric store. My fingers don't always work the best so I now have to have pins with heads on them to grab. When I am working on stacks of things, it is more productive to pin everything and sew away, and I haven't had enough pins to do that. This will help!

In the third picture you will see a little crate which I plan on putting pattern paper on the slats, and using it for displaying. It is shallow and will be great for that. In the crate is a package of paper doilies, a new hot air brush (I always like to have a spare around so I don't have to drop $25.00 for one when mine goes out as they don't last long, in our now disposable product society). Another thing in the crate which is hard to see in this picture, is a huge roll of blue seam binding which I was tickled to find. I almost missed it as I couldn't figure out what it was in the bag. So I did something I never do, I poked a little hole in the bag so I could get my fingers inside to feel the end of it. Low and behold...it was seam binding. It was marked fifty cents, so I got it for a quarter. But seriously, they wouldn't have been able to get anyone to buy it as it is very dirty. But I am not concerned about that. I will unroll it, fill up the sink with soapy water and let it soak, rinse it, and then scrunch it up in bunches and let it dry on the counter. That is what people are doing with seam binding to get a shabbier look to it. It crinkles after it has been wet and scrunched. Last, but not least, I got a whole stack of berry baskets that I have a craft project in mind for, and a bag of buttons. Definitely a good haul!

Large Notepad

2011-09-30T00:13:00.000-05:00

And the beat goes on...

2011-09-29T23:52:00.000-05:00

Day 4 of not going out of the house and working on notebooks. This is a much larger size than the previous ones, and it is the first time I have done one this size. This one measures 53/4" x 9". As in scrap booking, the larger the layout, the harder it is to make the page flow and look complete. I feel in is much easier to work on a "smaller" canvas. But I am happy with the end results on this project.

This second picture shows the true colors of this project better. I find with shooting at night, and indoors that sometimes the color doesn't show up correctly. I should be shooting pictures in the daytime, but this is kind of my routine, so you will have to bear with me, and I will try hard to get a good photograph.
Elaine

The second half of Wednesday's work.

2011-09-29T07:29:00.000-05:00

This is the other half of notepads that I finished on Wednesday. Each one is a little bit different.

Button card from the stamp set Sew Suite. Remember stamping gals when I showed you how to make your own chipboard buttons? I used my samples on these notebooks.

More fun with doilies.

When she works...she works!

2011-09-29T06:55:00.000-05:00

I finished 20 of these little notebooks yesterday, and I am going to show you half of them in this post. So much fun to play and be mixy/matchy!

I love being able to make elements with my punches and Big Shot. Isn't Mr. Owl cute sitting on his leafy branch!?!?

I am also working on punching and running scraps through the die cutting machine. It doesn't seem like I have made a dent till I look in the trash can!
I have watched a zillion "Days of Our Lives" while working. One of the new "soaps" I have been watching now that "All My Children" is gone. :-( Can you see the dimension on the flowers!?!? Good ole' pop up dots, one of my favorite friends.

I am very thankful to have this burst of energy. Perhaps it is the cooler weather!?!?!? Who knows. One of the ups and downs of living with a chronic illness.

But whatever it is...we will run with it while it lasts, and be thankful! So which one is your favorite? Drop me a note or leave me a comment!

Medium Notebook

2011-09-28T22:39:00.000-05:00

This is one of the many notebooks I worked on today. This one is larger than the other ones that I have posted. It is a 5" x 5" notebook that I found new at the thrift shop one day, all wrapped up in cellophane. It had a plain brown cover that looked like a paper bag. I guess you could call it kraft card stock. I should have shot a "before" and "after" shot. I used the Fancy Flower Folds die to cut out all the layers of flowers. The center was cut out from a Cuttle bug Die and I topped it with a vintage button, tied with my homemade Baker's Twine. The flower was ran through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wall Paper embossing folder to give it texture and is mounted on a paper doily. Retired pink ribbon that "looks" doilyish, finishes off the project.

This photo gives you a better look at all the texture on the project. Happy hump day! Elaine

Tuesday's goodies

2011-09-28T02:03:00.000-05:00

I have been working away on more mini notebooks and running scraps through the die cutting machine. I also have the pattern paper on some more mini notebooks that just need to be decorated now.

Some of you may recognize these large flowers from my stamping parties. I put together a bunch of them and had brought them in to show my stamping group. I love the fun, funky look to them. Adding a button to them changes the look further.

Molly and Taffy just went zooming by up the steps. I wonder what they are up to now.

I am really enjoying the play time with all the scraps. It makes me feel good to put them all to use, and come up with something cute.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!! Elaine

Mini Notepads

2011-09-27T01:37:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of blog posts last week. It was a busy week. I was either gone, sleeping, or working on the library scrapbook. Monday night I had another digital stamping class here at the house. Tuesday night was the first night of the Non-Fiction Book Club that I joined at the library. We all read different books about the depression and we discussed different things we had read.

Next month our topic to read about is Pre-1850 Wisconsin history. If you are interested in joining, our next meeting is on Tuesday, October 18th, at 6:30 at the library.
On Wednesday, I left dodge around 1:00 and I hit the thrift shop in the Dells, 3 in Reedsburg, and then went to a new yarn shop in Reedsburg and looked around. I went to Sarah and Zach's and had supper with Sarah, and we visited during the evening, and I arrived back to Mayberry around 10:30 pm.
Thursday, after working on the scrapbook, I ran some errands, came home and made 3 pans of meat loaf and stuck them in the freezer. Then I spent the evening out at Di's house with a bunch of stamping friends. Di came up with a real cute project for us to do. I need to finish the cover and then I will post a picture on here.

One of the treasures I found at the Dells thrift shop was a 5 blade shredding shear. I used it to make the grass on these notebooks. It works pretty cool.

Friday brought more working on the library scrap book, the daily naps, and I made 3 pans of meat-za-pie. Two pans for the freezer and one of them I cooked up. Delish! One of my favorite meals!!!
Saturday morning, bright and early, I was up and headed to Madison to arrive there by 9 am to go to the stamping and rummage sale at the Scrapbook Superstore. I came home with a big bag of goodies at dirt cheap prices. The best deal was the Clip It Up I found. I have it put together but need to fill it yet. Di stopped over today to see all my goodies, so now I can get them put away. I also stopped at Aldi's on the way home, and stocked up on some groceries. After a nap, I worked on the library scrapbook in the evening.
Sunday, had me back at the flea market for a cold, rainy day. We ended up going home early and were done by 2. Another nap, and another evening of scrapbooking!

Today, I took the scrap book to the library board meeting to show them and give them an update on my progress on it. They are very happy with the work I have done on it. I will go back in January to their Christmas potluck and meeting and give them another update and show them the scrap book again. I had chili going in the slow cooker today, and made a loaf of oatmeal bread in the bread machine. Yum, Yum!
I decided that my cutting area needed cleaning up today in the stamping room. I tend to cut for several months and the scraps pile up there. A lot of times I fish things out of the pile and use them on projects I am working on, but it gets to the point that I can't stand it any more and it was time to clean it up. So I set up shop on the dining room table, so I could watch TV while running scraps through the die cutting machine. I have a little Sizzix side kick that I picked up a few years ago at a Scrap book garage sale in Madison for $2.00. It is tiny and faster to use with the sizzlet/cuttlebug dies. So I worked on cutting out a TON of these flowers, for HOURS before I stopped and starting playing, and decorated these mini notebooks. I am starting to get a headache. I think it is time for this chickadee to hit the hay! Elaine

2011-09-19T13:35:00.000-05:00

WEEKLY RECIPE

Caramel Apple Slush
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef
Ingredients
Apple 'n Pear Slush Drink Mix
14 oz. (1 3/4 cups) spiced rum
Warm water (about 6 cups)
Warmed Creamy Caramel Sauce
Directions
Combine first 3 ingredients in the bucket; whisk until dissolved. Freeze 12-14 hours or overnight. Stir; spoon into glasses. Drizzle with warm Creamy Caramel Sauce for garnish. Makes 9 (8 oz.) servings

This recipe was in my Tastefully Simple newsletter. Doesn't it sound yummy? If you would like to order the Creamy Carmel Sauce, and Apple n' Pear Slush Mix, give me a call! Elaine

Strawberry Wine...seventeen...hot July summer...

2011-09-18T00:44:00.000-05:00

You know the song....I couldn't resist.
Yum....I love strawberries! And I love to make Strawberry Banana smoothies along with homemade egg mc muffins. One of my favorite meals to cook these days. Sarah got me hooked on them when I was taking care of her.

I whipped up this little gift set tonight. A four piece 3" x 3" note card set with envelopes tucked inside the tin.

The Garden Green note cards were embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, and so was the white panel on the front of the tin. Underneath the strawberry is card stock vellum which was punched out with a 2 1/2" circle punch then ran through the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. The strawberry was made with the Scalloped Hearts of Hearts Embosslit on page 216 of the SU Catalog using Poppy Parade card stock. I love this color combination together. So pretty! The leaves were made with the 5 Petal Flower Punch. I cut 3 off in a curve and the remain two are glued underneath. The flower is made using the Boho Blossom Punch and the center is made with a quarter inch circle punch.

Adios! Elaine

Bugs and Kisses

2011-09-15T23:08:00.000-05:00

Here is a birthday set I made for my nephew Ben who's birthday is coming up on October 2nd. I recycled an Martzetti Honey Mustard Salad Dressing Jar. I love that stuff and the best part is that all the advertising on these particular jars is on the paper label that is easily soaked off. The gold lid is plain and wouldn't even need to be decorated but I thought this brown leaf paper was too cute not to add to the scalloped circle I added to the top of the jar. When you alter stuff like this, be sure and use Sticky Strip, also know as red line tape, or scor-tape so it sticks good to the metal surface. I also used this to adhere the designer paper on yesterday's altered tin project. Today, I used my Circle Nestie, Scalloped Circle Nestie, for the jar top, and used the tag corner punch on the tags, which I stamped with the retired SU stamp set Bugs and Kisses. Such a fun set! I am thinking about making a scrap book page of Mason with it before I return the set to Susie. I bought sweet sour sugared gummy worms for the jar and they look so cute in there. I will probably pick up another package before I give it to him to fill it up, but you "get" the idea.

The other package is a package of gummy "lightening" bugs. They light up when you pick them up with the enclosed tweezers. When Colleen was here visiting last year, she found them at our Family Dollar store, and she bought a bunch of them to take back for all the little boy's in her life. She had not seen anything like that in Oregon. I thought Ben would enjoy these, so I got some for him.

On this package, I decided to make a belly band to go around it, as the packaging is too cute to cover up! The label is made with a scallop circle, decorative label, and curly label punches.

Oh....and Mr. Mason is now walking!!! He started a couple of days ago. Jen says he still prefers crawling, that he starts out walking but then he gets down and zooms over crawling. LOL He was ecstatic to hear Grammies voice today, and he was trying to say this combination of Grandma and Nana. And of course anything I asked him he said "yeah". So cute! Enjoy the little "bugs" in your life! Elaine

Happy Harmony Mini Notecards and Tin

2011-09-15T21:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Fall and happy cooler weather! Yippee!

I made 3 sets of these little gift tins, with four mini cards that are 3" x 3" and four envelopes last night. I was burning the midnight oil, as they say. I get some of my best work done at night. I am such a night owl. Too bad all the day owls wake me up! :-D

Here is a close up of the tin. It is a recycled General Foods International coffee tin. The stamp set I used is an oldie but goodie. It is a retired SU set called Happy Harmony. Such a nice set for making these tins. If you look under the 3 D tag or Happy Harmony tag on the side of the blog, you will find other projects that I have used it on. I am pretty sure I have used it to do tins in the past.

Here is the cute little card, perfect to use for any occasion! I used the decorative label punch for the verse and mat. The Bashful Blue mat is cut in half, and the little points snipped off, then it is matted underneath the verse. The little pink flower was punched out of a Pretty in Pink scrap piece of card stock with the retired SU 3 flower punch. I have a whole drawer full of these little flowers all punched out and ready to use. It saves so much time. I just had to fish them out, then I embossed them with a stylus, glued them on, and then glued on a little yellowish pearl (a thrift shop find). These make a sweet little gift to give. Make it a great day! Elaine

Encouragement

2011-09-14T17:15:00.000-05:00

I like this bible verse and I think it is a good one when someone needs encouragement. I just made up 3 of these cards. I used the grey background to symbolize our helplessness, and used the orange and green to symbolize that GOD is our hope, our bright spot in our times of trouble and he will give us strength to get through those hard times.

What a beautiful day it is today. This is my kind of weather for sure. I had a doctor's appointment in Mauston this afternoon, so I buzzed over there and back. Now I am buzzin' around in my stamping room! LOL Enjoy this great weather! Elaine

Recipe: Stamp: is one of Verve's Plain Janes, DSP: House/Tree, Neighboorhood from SU Sale-A-Bration, Ribbon: retired SU, Nestabilities Die's: Circle and Scalloped Circle.

Ear Warmer/Headband

2011-09-12T23:38:00.000-05:00

These are the new Ear warmer/Headbands that I am now making. I finished my first one tonight and I have another one that I just need to make the flower for. I absolutely adore the flower on it. I tried to get a good picture of it for you to see, but it looks much cuter in person.

It has two button holes, and button's so it is adjustable to fit different size heads. This is a picture of it folded in half. When I get a "model" around. I will show you how they look on someone's head! :-D

I had a fun time tonight at Beth Griffith's stamping party. We made some cute projects. Two of them were Christmas cards in beautiful colors.

When I came home tonight, the cat's had one of their toy "mouses" laying on the kitchen table. LOL Sometimes they leave them in my bed for me. Showing off their trophies...I think! Elaine

Sarah modeling Skinny Scarfs

2011-09-11T23:40:00.000-05:00

Last weekend when the kids were home, I took a bunch of pictures of Sarah modeling the skinny scarfs that I am making so that I could make up a sign showing some of the different ways that you can wear them. I thought you might enjoy seeing them. Doesn't Sarah make a beautiful model for me!??

I have been busy crocheting baby shoes, and I am also working on some new crocheted headbands/ear warmers and they are turning out adorable. After I get the flowers finished...I will shoot some pictures so that you can see them.

On Thursday, I had a great time at Quilt Expo and I bought some new goodies that I am anxious to play with. Quilt Expo is so much fun. It is my favorite day of the year!!! I was quite exhausted afterwards and did not feel well on Friday and Saturday. But it was worth it! Elaine

Sail Away Digital Stamping Class

2011-09-07T22:09:00.000-05:00

Tonight I taught a class on digital stamping. The people attending the class learned how to download digital stamps and digital scrap book paper, how to resize an image, and print it. We spent a couple of hours on the computer and talking about how to do things, and we also looked at the My Digital Studio Software. The group was very excited about entering the digital stamping and scrap booking world.

We made this card with the digital image Sail Away (the sailboat) that we printed off the computer, and then we made the card just like we normal would, except this is called a hybrid project because it is a mix of traditional stamping and digital. I added a little bit of color to the sail boat sails with a blender pen and ink. Last but not least we finished the night off with cookies and lemonade!

My first greeting card in Spanish!

2011-09-06T22:18:00.000-05:00

I am starting to make greeting cards in Spanish and this is my very first one. The little banner behind the plane says "I miss you". This little airplane is from the hostess set, Ain't Love Grand, which come in English, Spanish, and French. I chose the Spanish version.

I went to the library today and picked up the book Hard Times, An Oral History of the Great Depression. I am going to join the non-fiction book club that starts the 20th at the library. Everyone in the book club is reading books about the depression. The book I am reading tells stories from people in all different walks of life and their experiences. I read about 50 pages tonight of it and so far it is pretty interesting. I also worked on the library scrapbook this afternoon. And I went to Practical Cents to drop off some things for my mom and I picked up this beautiful doily which is part of a set that I have on my flower frog on this photo. I just love it. Some day I hope to have a room with walls in a green like this. I also found some more skeins of yarn that I will use to make more Mary Janes. I found some pretty colors.

This photo shows a close up of the airplane popped up. It looks like it is flying in the clouds. I thought that the Latino's would like this card to send to there families back home. I have 3 more in the works. I was excited to show Jenna so I wanted to get it up on face book before she went to bed.

Tomorrow is my digital scrap booking class in the evening. I made the cookies for it tonight. I still need to get my card designed for it. Talk about waiting till the last minute!!! Later gator....Elaine

Rain rain go away....come back some other day....

2011-09-02T22:47:00.000-05:00

We had a bad storm here today. The power was out for about 3 hours in town. I do not know if the people in the country have power yet or not. I was fortunate not to have any damage but not everyone was so lucky. There were trees and branches down all over the place I understand.

Here is a quick card I popped out tonight. I have the pieces and stamping done for 5 more, but I am tired and I am going to hit the hay. I have been having a lot of trouble with my eyes and neck this week. I just got new glasses a couple of months ago, but all of sudden I can not read the computer screen so may be heading back in if this doesn't clear up.

The black and white striped paper on this card is digital paper that I printed out from the computer. I used a sheet of my old dictionary from the thrift store, for the center portion that I ripped, and I also ripped the real red card stock. You can see that better in the next photo. I matted a strip of real red glitter paper that I found in my scrap drawer. We have red and silver glitter paper in the Holiday mini right now. And last but not least, I used Real Red and Old Olive markers to ink of the flower from the hostess set Love and Care. I love, love, love this flower and stamp set. It is definitely a keeper and will always remain in my collection of stamps. Some of them I tire of or something better comes along, but this one is a classic, and so very pretty. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend! If you are out and about, stop down and say "hi" at the flea market!

Play Date

2011-09-01T23:21:00.000-05:00

Today I had my play date out at Diane's. She was busy making flowers, and I worked on coloring images for the library scrapbook and I helped her with some things on her computer. We had a GREAT lunch. Egg salad sandwiches, Cucumber Slices on crackers spread with pimento spread, cold chicken, and fudgy chocolate brownies! Yum Yum! I got home around 4:30 and laid down after checking out the computer as my neck was killing me. I watched All My Children and then fell asleep during Sewing Nancy. Even though I find that program interesting, it always puts me to sleep. I think it is the lack of commercials.

Tonight I cranked out six of these sympathy cards. I made a trade for the stamp set Strength and Hope and it came today, much to my delight, so I decided to ink it up. The butterfly on this card is from this set. So very pretty. You will be seeing lots more of this set. It was actually designed as a breast cancer set. Stampin UP! donates $2.00 from each set sold to breast cancer research. They are so good about donating to worthy causes.

I started this card with the framed tulip embossing folder ran through the Big Shot. Then ran a layer of white through with the elegant lines embossing folder. This made a very elegant card mixing and matching the embossing folders. Like Mikey says....try it .....you'll like it! Then I used the magic bow maker to make my bow, taped the ends on the back and then added a black mat and adhered it to the card. Next I stamped out the butterflies, cut them out, adhered them to the card, put a row of glue down the stem area and dropped pearls on to it, then adjusted them into a row. The final step was to take a Martha Stewart tag punch, punch out a tag, and then I used the stamp "With Sympathy" from Papertrey Ink's stamp set Mixed Messages, and stamped that on the tag. Inside the card I stamped the message "May the care of friends and family bring you comfort and may loving memories heal your heart", from the stamp company Stamping Sensations. I picked that up at Lighthouse Book Store in Wis Rapids a couple of years ago. It is a very nice saying for sympathy cards. Tonight I used a different one of my new, old metal flower frogs to photograph my card on. I think this long rectangle one is my favorite of the batch. Make it a great day! Elaine

It's tag time!

2011-08-31T23:35:00.000-05:00

Hi! I just came out of the stamping room after some fun play time making sewing themed tags. I sure do love to play in there. One of my favorite things to do!
It was a busy day in Mayberry today. I made a trip to the bank early this morning, baked Mom's birthday cake for her party on Saturday and decorated it this evening and stuck it in the freezer. I put in a stamping order, took a nap :-D, cooked supper and made up 3 plates of food to have for future dinners. I baked banana muffins and I made brownies to take out to Di's tomorrow. We have a play date planned. So all in all it was a pretty productive day!
I am using my new to me, old metal flower frog for the first time today that the tags are sitting on. I have been wanting one for some time as that is the way most card makers take pictures of there cards and it looks pretty cool. I was able to find some on Ebay and bought a batch. If you would like one....email me or leave a comment, and I will sell you one. I bought a batch of 5 as it was the only way to get a decent price on them. The individual ones were very expensive. Probably hard to find. I have been looking for a year or so, and have not seen them any where in my travels. One night I was talking to Corrinne on the phone and some how in the conversation, she mentioned them. I did not know what they were called. Once I found that out, I was able to find them on Ebay.. In the eight years I ran antique stores, not once did I see one of these. We always sold glass flower frogs, so I did not have a clue that these "things" that they were displaying cards on were called "metal flower frogs". A person learns some thing new all the time! Have a good one....Elaine

Halloween hair clip

2011-08-29T21:37:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at lunch today with the lunch bunch celebrating Mom's birthday. Jeannette is always a riot....I love her so! When I was getting ready to leave Family Affair, I spotted another old friend Shirley Hill! It was so wonderful to see her and we had a nice visit. I ended up having a 3 or 4 hour nap today....:-(. The nap was good :-D and I feel very rested, the not so good part is that I didn't get any accomplished in that time period. I think my body is trying to get caught up on sleep from the Milwaukee trip, as I took a nap yesterday after the flea market too. I got a few more things marked and added to the "to go" box for the flea market this weekend. I decided to cut up the left over fabric pieces that I had left from the Halloween bags project, with the Big Shot and the Circles #2 die to make this Halloween hair clip. A quick fun project.....and you know how I hate to throw ANYTHING away that can be possibly up cycled into something! Elaine

Butterfly Towels

2011-08-29T10:04:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning around 8 and have been up ever since. I did my usual check the computer in the morning routine, and since then I have been cleaning, sorting and marking. I did these towels a month or so ago, and they were laying there waiting to be pressed. I thought I'd better do that and get them in the stall for the upcoming holiday weekend.

Later this morning, I am headed to Family Affair to have lunch with the lunch bunch and celebrate my mother's 70th birthday! Happy Birthday Mom! I hope you have a wonderful day and many, many, more Happy Birthday's to come! Love, Elaine

At long last....a card!

2011-08-29T00:15:00.000-05:00

I finally got into the stamping cave tonight and create a card especially for my readers. I wanted to try out my new tulip punch from EK Success. I found it on clearance at Michael's a few weeks ago when Carol and I were at Plover. It makes a very pretty intricate pattern. The lace on the card is from one of my thrift store finds. It adds a nice touch of texture. The green scallop row is made with a Martha Stewart punch and so is the yellow flower. The 2 3/8" scalloped circle and decorative label are Stampin' UP! I used an assortment of different companies DSP's and the verse is from a Fiskar's stamp set. I did a little bit of distress on the scallop and label with an ink pad to the edges and I also used a sponge dauber on the label. It was so fun to be back in the stamp room!

I am going to hip hop off to bed now.....Happy Monday!!! Elaine

Peach Mary Jane's

2011-08-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

I crocheted these little Mary Jane's yesterday and finished sewing the little pearl button's on them this morning. I crocheted a second pair today. I just need to get the straps and button's put on them and they will be all done too. They were teasing me at the flea market that I must be hoping for a little girl. I am, as little girls are so fun to dress up, but a happy, healthy baby is all I really want for the kids!

Baby Shoes

2011-08-27T22:22:00.000-05:00

I found this pattern on the internet for "Mary Jane's" baby shoes and thought they were adorable so I decided I would make some up. I think they turned out pretty cute. I would love to see a pair of these on a baby girl. I made the 3 to 6 month size. The strap can actually be undone if one wanted to as it has a button hole, but it would be easiest to slip the little foot through the back, there is plenty of room. Can you tell that I have "babies on the brain" as I like to call it. LOL Well....for those of you who have not heard.....Jenna Lee is pregnant and Mason will be having a new little brother or sister. She is due on April 1st. She has her ultra sound picture hanging on the frig at their house and I got to see a picture of my newest grand baby this week!

I had supper tonight with Mom and Dad. Mom and I were doing some visiting then I was showing my Dad the AF Speedway page on face book and that brought back lots of memories for him as he raced in the 50's. He was telling me that John Ashworth and him would go and race go carts on the track on Saturday morning's. This got him interested in go carts and racing. He said he first started racing when he was 16. The stock car races were really a big thing here. He said everyone had a car and that all the businesses sponsored cars. There would be 300 cars on a Friday night, and that they usually would start out with 30 on the track, with lots of pile ups as everyone was just learning. Any whoo...it was pretty interesting. Matt Mc Laughlin has put a lot of work into the page, and he is trying to get more information, and is trying to identify some of the people in the pictures. I got a couple of pictures from him of old libraries for the library scrapbook.

Have a happy Sunday!!! Elaine

A little treat bag for your little trickster!

2011-08-26T21:14:00.000-05:00

I love fall, and I love Halloween. I love the house decorated in oranges, black and fall colors.

I just finished this little treat bag. I have 2 more of these in process and will be making more. It almost makes me want to go down in the ~~dungeon~~, I mean basement, and get out the fall decorations! Too bad I am too pooped at the moment. Oh well, maybe I shall get motivated to do it next week as Jenna, Diana, and Mason (and possibly Antonio) will be here next weekend. And I am sure Mason would LOVE to see Grammies house decked out for Halloween....ghost lights and all!

Any whoo....Aren't these bags fun!?!? A cute little gift bag to give a treat in for those special people in your life. It could be filled with candy, popcorn, or a popcorn ball, carmel apple, money, a gift card, little toys, animal crackers........... the ideas are endless! Just depends on who you want to give it to.

I decided to put a pop can by it so you could tell what size it is. It looks like a miniature shopping bag, box pleat bottoms and all! These will be available at the Adams Flea Market. Stop down and see me! Elaine

Four more little bibs

2011-08-26T16:54:00.000-05:00

A busy day in Mayberry today! First thing this morning, I went to the Humane Societies rummage sale that was held in the exhibit building in the fair grounds. I ran into some old friends and had a nice visit with Ruth Petersen. They had TONS of stuff and I found some treasures. Then it was back home to do some wheelin' and dealin' on the internet and some sewing to finish this stack of four baby bibs. This afternoon, I made a trip to the PO to mail out packages, go to the bank, and I went to Pamida to pick up the kitty litter that I had on rain check and a bag a cat food for the cats that was on sale. So they are all set for awhile! In Pamida, I ran into Arlene Graham and we chattered for awhile. I invited her to go to Quilt Expo with us, but I am not sure if she will or not. If anyone wants to ride along with us, give me a buzz. We are going on Thursday, Sept 8. I can fit 8 in the van and we all split the gas and parking costs.
Then it was off to the library to pick up the library scrapbook as I plan on doing a lot of work on it this month. I really like the new librarian. He is a very nice man. And has some great ideas.

It looks like the weather will be great this weekend. Stop down and see me at the flea market! Elaine

Crochet Sweater

2011-08-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

I finished up this sweater when I first got to Milwaukee, then I started crocheting a scarf. I haven't got too far on the scarf though....Mason keeps Grammie pretty busy when she is there!

Mason's 1st birthday party!

2011-08-24T23:37:00.000-05:00

Hello! Sorry for the long lapse of writing. I have been in Milwaukee since Friday and just returned this afternoon. I originally was planning on taking Sarah with me and we were going to stay Friday night, and Saturday for Mason's birthday party. But Sarah had a bunch of produce to take care of so she ended up just coming on Saturday for the party and returning home so I left early Friday morning, and I thrift shopped along the way, and found some treasures much to my delight and then stayed for a long visit! The birthday party was lots of fun with about 60 people I think, and 30 of them were kids. The high light of the day was the huge Elmo pinata that had cone shaped points. The kids had a blast trying to break it, and I was teasing my sister that her kids were going to want one for their birthday next year as they had so much fun with this one. Mason had his own "smash" cake and he ate about half of it. It took Grammie along time to get him to wind down to go to sleep that night! LOL Between all the excitement, and sugar that he ate, he was wound up. I bet he laid his head down on me 100 times before he went out around 10:30 and I am not exagerating! He wanted to go to sleep....he just couldn't wind down, with people in and out of the house. Finally he conked out when it got silent for a moment!

Oh....and guess who got to clean up the little cake eater after he was done!?!?! Grammie! And he wasn't a happy camper about it, I think he liked having frosting all over him so he could continue to eat it! :-D

Isn't the pinata adorable!?!? Two of the points were already off of it at this point in time. When Mason and I came out after his "clean up", the kids were swinging away! And there is a Spanish song that they sing while the kids are swing at it. I tried to sing along but it was too fast and I couldn't say a lot of the words but it was fun trying. Afterwards, I asked what they were saying, and it was explained to me that it was like a cheer they said. I had caught the words Uno, and Trece, and they said that it talks about swinging once, twice, three times you are done. When they stop singing, the kids are suppose to stop swinging and some one else gets a turn. And the little kids got to go first, and if someone was swinging too hard, they would raise it up in the air a little bit out of there reach. It was on a rope. One of the guys at the party, climbed a tree to get the rope up there and it was wrapped around a branch, kind of like a pulley..

Even Mason rapped at the pinata! He looked a little puzzled about it at first, but I think he decided it was okay as he had seen others doing it, and because he was in his Papa's arms! We had lots of good food, lots of fun and laughter! Mason is saying words now at a rapid pace. He might not say them again, but he keeps saying new one's each day. He is so much fun! I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Elaine

Mason turned one yesterday!

2011-08-19T05:30:00.000-05:00

Mason had his first birthday yesterday! I was talking to Jenna last night and she said that they would say to Mason yesterday, "So how's the Happy Birthday Boy?" and he would say happy! It was the first that he has said that word. Too cute!

The past few days have been very busy for me. On Wednesday, Diane and I headed down to see Doris Kolberg who moved to Milton, WI. She has a beautiful apartment that is huge! And she is only 5 or 6 miles from Janesville where there is tons of shopping, there is a quilt shop in Milton, and Milton is a beautiful nice little town. I am quite jealous! LOL It was good to see Doris and her new place. We all worked on sewing projects and visited, then went into Janesville to have Chinese food, and we shopped at JoAnn's. A great day!

I had another great day with Carol Camp on Thursday. She is on vacation and we made a trip to Plover and Stevens Point. We did some shopping and had lunch at Apple Bee's, and caught up on each others lives. We have been friends now for over 25 years, so we have a lot of history together, and I feel like her kids are my kids as I babysat for them, plus we have spent so much time together over the years.

I slept a couple of hours after getting home. I was tuckered out, and ran into another old friend in the grocery store at 9 o'clock at night after I got up, Colleen Thurs. We had a nice little visit and I got my ingrediants for the Chinese Crunch salad I am making for Mason's birthday party! Time to head back to bed and try and get some more zzzz's. Waking up at 4:30 am is for the birds! Have a wonderful Friday! Elaine

Enjoy every moment

2011-08-16T19:26:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pages for Mason's scrapbook.

Sweet Things

2011-08-16T18:36:00.001-05:00

One thing nice about rubber stamps is that you can make your own scrap booking embellishments. Unlike using stickers, you never run out as you can stamp as many as you would like to. On this page, I used the retired stamp set Sweet Thing. It has some great images/sayings to use for babies.

I have another page done that I may post later when I need a break. It is back to work for this chickadee! Elaine

How to get to Sesame Street.....

2011-08-15T18:28:00.001-05:00

A birthday card for Mason's first birthday!

A close up.

Love you "kick stand" for the card.

A close up of the hanging pendant banner.

Inside of card.

Side view of the Easel card.

Back of card. Two scallops then score, score two scallops from the other end and attach to card front.

On Thursday, Mason will be one year old. Oh how this year has flown by. Way too fast, that is for sure!!! He loves Sesame Street. Jenna puts the cards I have made him on his dresser, so this will be fun for him to look at!

Here is recipe for the card:

Stamps: Oscar loves Trash from Stampabilities, Pendant from Studio G, Sweet Thing retired from Stampin' UP!, Big Shot, Scalloped Square Die, Copic Markers, Momento Black Ink, Red Bakers Twine, Dimensionals, Martha Stewart Grass Punch, Tempting Turquoise Ink, Card Stock: Real Red and Tempting Turquoise, Gina K 110lb white card stock, Retired SU DSP, SU Scalloped Oval Punch and Oval Punch

Flowerbuds

2011-08-11T15:02:00.000-05:00

Sarah and Zach gave me this pail of flowers from Flowerbuds Greenhouse, a Division of Jerry D's, Zach's parent's landscaping business. When I first got them, you could really see the purple pail. They have grown so much that they are now overflowing. I was telling Sarah about it on the phone and she said she would really like to see them now, that I should shoot some pictures. She hasn't been up this direction since the 4th of July, as she can only drive about 15 minutes. It really bothers her leg, so she has to be chauffeured. She will be riding with me to Mason's birthday party in Milwaukee so that should be a fun time.

Scrap Happy!

2011-08-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

Just finished scrapping these pages of Mason's baptism. I wish the pictures that Jenna ordered would get here. It is only one week till his birthday party. I have a few more pictures here and then I will be as far as I can go.
I went to Practical Cents today for Sarah. She is crafting again. I picked her up a bunch of silky type shirts. Last night she made a headband using parts of my wedding dress. She will be posting this on her blog soon. Watch the link on the side of my blog to see when she adds it to her blog. You can click the link for her blog from mine. I found some very pretty variegated baby yarn today. It has white, pink, blue, and yellow in it for colors. It should make up a very pretty baby set. I am thinking a sweater, hat, and bootie set. I am working on another little sweater for Mason. I almost have one side of it done. I work on it at the flea market and when I am watching TV. No rush as winter isn't here yet! I should have it done for the birthday celebration we are having in September for both Mom's and Mason's birthdays here in town.

Thanks for Caring

2011-08-10T14:41:00.000-05:00

I made up six sympathy cards on Monday when Brooke and I were stamping together. This stamp set was in the Occasion Mini this spring and it was a great one to add to my collection as I use so many sympathy cards.

Recipe: Stampin UP! stamp set: Thanks for Caring, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Classic Circle Nesties, Big Shot, Card stock: Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, 5/8" Black Grosgrain Ribbon

Verse and Flower that I stamped inside the card.