Running with scissors!

Everyone has heard it from their mom's that you should never run with scissors. You know what else you should never do with scissors? You should never spend the entire day cutting out aprons and owlies standing hunched over the kitchen table! Mental note to self: Never do THAT again! My lower back was calling me dirty names by dinner time! I still love cutting out projects and keeping them in zip lock bags so that I can grab them at a moment's notice and start sewing, but I need to remember to pace myself. I did cut out 5 aprons and 5 owlies yesterday and today I'm getting started on the fun part.....sewing them together and giving the owlies their personalities :) I also made a quick trip over to M & L yardage this morning to pick up some more fabric for aprons. I'll post some pictures of everything as I complete them.

Happy Day :)

It's amazing how a rough day can make you appreciate a better day :) Today is a better day for sure! It's 9:45am and I'm still in my jammies, drinking some hot tea, listening to some wonderful music and getting started on cutting out some aprons that will be the first wave of items for my etsy shop. A rough day can also put things into perspective. What really matters? What am I truly happy about? If you've ever read my blog before you know that my family is the greatest gift I have in this life. With all the ups and downs, they are the fuel that keeps me moving forward. But that doesn't mean I don't find happiness is little things. Just look at these totally cute butterfly pins I found at JoAnn's! Even Owlie seems to like them :) I hope today is a happy day for you as well!

Maybe this time, I'll get it right :)

I don't do New Year's resolutions. I don't think I know anyone who has ever made one and stuck it out. I'm sure somebody has done it....I just don't know them.


Instead I've decided to make a list of the things that "I'd like to" do this year. (other than item #1, the rest are in no particular order)

1. I would like to make the 1st Saturday of every month "Date Saturday" with my hubby. (I talked to the hubster about this last night and he loves the idea :) Our relationship is the most important one in my life and I need to make sure that we are taking time out  from all the other "stuff" to really have fun together.
2. I would like to be more "on purpose" with my spending and work at getting all of our debt paid off in the next 3 1/2 years. It's do-able, but it's mostly up to me as I am in charge of the finances.
3. I would like to learn to knit. (Did I say that out loud?) Up until now, knitting has been my nemesis. I wanted to stab myself in the eye with the needles the last time I tried. But if I took a class maybe I'd finally master that skill.
4. I would like to be a better pet owner. Barkley has bad manners and jumps on people when they come to visit and that is my fault. I need to take the time to train him. I trained him to go potty outside.....not jumping on people should be a walk in the park compared to that. If he was better behaved, everyone would enjoy his company more. I know I would.
5. I would like to be a better friend and really nurture my friendships. I don't often take time out to get together with friends. 
6. I would like to be outdoors more. Walking in the sunshine would be really good for me (and for my naughty doggie)
7. I would like to be more adventurous. I'm going to be 50 in February and I'm not getting any younger. I'm not saying that I'm going to be skydiving anytime soon, but there are a few things on my list I'd like to try.
8. I would like to actually use my daily planner. I've read that if you do the things that you really don't want to do first each day, that you actually get more done. (wouldn't that be nice?)
9. I would like to get my car washed on a regular basis. This one may sound funny but I know that doing that would make my hubby happy.
10. I would like to learn how to use all the really cool stuff that my Photoshop actually does :)
11. I would like to open my esty shop and have it be insanely successful so that I would have some extra "Nana" cash for emergencies with the grandkids.....like ice cream or the zoo :)
12. I would like to get all my Christmas crafting done by Dec. 1st so that I can really enjoy all the fun Christmas-y things going on.

 Like Albert Einstein said :"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

 And with that in mind, I'm going to try a few new things this year and see if by this time next year I'll have some different results :)

Happy New Year!

Out with the old....





before

 

after





  I have to say that joining the apron swaps earlier this year has been a real game changer for me. I've told my husband before that I thought that sites like e-Harmony needed to have a sub-division for friends who connect on 29 levels of compatibility. I mean there could be someone who lives down the street that could be loads of fun to hang out with but in our fast paced lives, we never meet. The apron swaps have been like e-Harmony Friends for me! Meeting so many crafty ladies who share my passion for fabric and colored paper has been awesome! I know I've mentioned Regena and Amy who crack me up on a daily basis, but are also so thoughtful and caring. There is also Jill who is an amazing crafter that I am getting to know better as well. All these women are so talented (you should check out their blogs too!)



Regena posted a link back in the begining of December about a cool way to organize your fabric with comic book boards. I could hardly wait to give it a whirl, but with all I had going on, I had to wait until after Christmas. So I ordered the boards on Amazon and they arrived last week. Yesterday was the big day to put the plan into effect! I realized that some of my fabric has been in my possession for over 20 years and if I haven't used it yet, chances are good that I'm not going to use it in the next 20 years either. So I'm working out the plans for another sewing day the the church and I'm going to take all the fabric I longer want in my stash and offer it to anyone who might want to take it home. Whatever is left over, goes to Salvation Army. This way I can make room for some of the newer fabrics that I'm totally in love with and I don't have to feel guilty about buying it and bringing it home :) I plan to do the same "purging" with my scrapbook supplies. I'm only going to keep the things I totally love and rest I'll give away. It's a new year....and a new start. Out with the old........and definately in with the new!!!

Forgot to show this maternity apron that I made for my daughter in law :)



Let's wrap this thing up!

Now that Christmas is behind us I can show some of the other gifts that I made for my family. These fun pot holders were for my daughter and I used the same free download pattern that I mentioned last week. If the fabric looks familiar it's the same vintage fabric that I found at the thrift store during the summer that I used to re-cover my own potholders. I also made her a folding sewing kit like the one I made for my first give-away! The fabric that I used for her is from the Cosmo Cricket "Tailor Made" collection that I bought on etsy. I'm a big fan of Cosmo Cricket scrapbook paper and now they offer some of the same designs in fabric too! Color me a happy girl!!! I love that the fabric has flowers and little spools of thread and scissors too. Perfect for a sewing kit!

I also made her a reversable apron from the wonderful "retro" free pattern I found on Sew4Home.com. I used this really fun Michael Miller fabric that is out of print that I found on ebay. It's blue checkers with adorable aprons all over it. I backed it in yellow polka dots and edged it in red bias. She saw the pattern earlier when I made one for my apron swap partner in the fall and she fell in love with the apron.

I had enough of the Ready Set Robot fabric left over to make a little shirt for Gabriel (my youngest grandson) to match his 2 older brothers. I can't wait to get a picture of the 3 of them wearing their shirts :)

My son-in-law Charlie, is the co-owner of a company called The Veracity Project and they just launched a new division of the company that sells t-shirts that say "Ask Me About Jesus". For every

t-shirt that is sold, a different t-shirt will be given to someone in need. Since Charlie wanted an apron, I couldn't resist using the "ask me about" graphics and adding a fun twist to it. My son Brandon, helped me find the perfect word and the "Ask Me About Cheeses" apron was born! It was a big hit as you can see. That's Brandon in the background cracking up :)

My mom had said that she would really like to have red jewelry so I made her this sterling silver and red howlite necklace and bracelet. As soon as I saw the stones, I knew she would love them (and she did :) I also gave her the last and the largest of the 3 cross stitched russian dolls that I made from the vintage cross stitch pattern that I found at a thrift store earlier this year.

For my son Brandon, I used the same vintage pattern that I found and used for the boys' shirts to make this retro 50's bowling shirt for him. He is a fan of the 50's and I knew he'd really like it. The fabric is also from the 50's which was an amazing find. My mom had the fabric and she was going to give it away. She got it from a neighbor who got it from her mom. When I saw it I knew I had to have it for Brandon! I think it came out pretty good :)

I also made this little girl's apron for my best friends' grand-daughter Kyleah. It matches the one I that I made for Marcia for her birthday earlier this month. I love that Kyleah calls me "Nana" too :) I'm hoping to get a picture of the 2 of them wearing the aprons.

Now that all my projects are done (for the moment anyway) I am focusing on re-organizing my craft room. I'll post more about that tomorrow!

The Score at Half-Time.....Boys 4 - Girls 1 :)

Big changes are coming our way. Yesterday our son and his beautiful wife went to the OB for their 20 week appointment and were thrilled to learn that their family of of 3 little boys will expand to include their first little girl! I am the proud Nana to 4 wonderful little guys. Each one of the different and amazing and so special to my heart. Now I get to add in some pink and lace and ruffles to my repertoire! It's hard to imagine a feminine influence into this male dominated circle that we've had going here, but if nothing else, it's going to be fun to watch and see if this little lady is going to be "one of the boys" or if she's going to "run the place" :) In the next 6 weeks we will find out if our daughter is carrying a little boy or a little girl. There is so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to! I know that I spend a lot of time on my blog talking about crafting, but today it really struck me that God is the ultimate crafter!
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."  Psalm 139:13-14

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well the gifts have all been opened and it's Christmas morning. The hubby and I slept in and had wonderful coffee (no one makes coffee like my hubby ;) and enjoyed the super tastey Almond bread that my Mom makes for us every year. I love the calm of Christmas morning. I am working on my cross stitch and we are watching "Have you heard about the Morgans" that I received as a gift from my hubby last night. This movie cracks us up! Tonight we are going to my Mom's for Christmas dinner as we do every year with the entire family. This has been the craftiest Christmas I think I've ever done. I'll post pics next week of all the projects that are now in their new homes. It's definately been fun. Here's wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas!