Hello!

Hello! Just wanted to pop in and say hi! I can't believe it's been over 6 months since my last post, time flew by way too fast just like it is already this year! We are getting ready to work on some home projects which include new dog kennels, front porch, more painting (not my favorite but almost done!) and lots more. We have a busy spring/summer planned but it will be so nice to finally get some of the big projects out of way. Our new dog kennels will have an inside area with air conditioning, heat and a raised wash tub for easy bathing. Washing 6 dogs is hard on the back so it will be nice to wash them and not have to bend over and also get soaked! The best part is the fencing will have smaller holes than the chain link in the lots we have now so no snakes will be able to crawl through. There will also be a fenced in play area attached to the dog kennels for the dogs to play in over the summer. One year we had a rattlesnake behind the dog house in one of our dog lots, so glad the dogs didn't get bit! It was the first time I ever heard a rattlesnake rattle it's tail, it was loud. We had three rattlesnakes on the property last year so keeping the dogs safe is my main priority, after all they are my fur babies! Hoping to get the kennels done within the next few months before the snakes come out but a neighbor told us last week that he has already seen a black snake so I guess they are coming out because of the warm weather we have had. I don't like snakes! Wanted to share a few projects I've worked on over the past few months, some Easter and some shabby......

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! Annette

Hello!

Summer was really nice, not too hot but we did have a lot of rain. I'm just glad that summer is coming to an end and Fall is in the air, this is my favorite time of year. The leaves are just starting to change a bit and I have a feeling I'll be raking leaves in the next few weeks. I've been hearing rumors that we are going to have a bitterly cold winter this year, I love the cold and hoping we get some snow! My nephew has been coming over and helping us clear brush and vines around trees. We are about 1/4th of the way done and have a lot more to do. The property was heavily wooded when we bought it and have been clearing it little by little. My goal is to have trees and grass with no brush and vines but it will be a lot of upkeep every year. The less places for snakes to hide the happier I am! We are pulling up the roots but I'm sure they will try and grow back. My poor nephew who is the one with the saw cutting down small trees got into two wasp nests on two different occasions, he got stung 4-5 times. This last time he was cutting a tree down and the nest was next to the tree in the ground covered by brush. Some gas and a match took care of the wasp nest, eggs and all. It was a very large nest so I am glad we got rid of it. We had 3 rattlesnakes this year, two in the same day within minutes of each other. We had to call our friend who came and got the first one to come back because after he left I was walking over in the same area the first rattlesnake was and I saw another, yikes! I've been working on home projects over the summer, still have a lot to do and hoping to get caught up within the next few months. I've been painting inside doors, outside furniture, a hutch and now working on a fireplace front. This is what it looks like, the white parts haven't been done yet. Even the parts that aren't white still have layers of paint that does not want to come off. I wear goggles and a mask when sanding as the fireplace is so old we aren't sure what is in the paint.

I used several coats of a heavy duty stripper and it was not taking the paint off very well. We purchased an orbital sander and went through several sheets of heavy sandpaper with not a lot of progress (and very sore arms!) Terry brought home a different product this past weekend and after the first coat of stripper, the paint came off instantly, yay!! I figure it will take a few weeks to strip all the paint and sand it down to the wood. Then it will get a few wood embellishments and trim and a fresh coat of white paint. It won't be a working fireplace, only decorative but it will look real with an added hearth and back. I have always wanted a fireplace with a mantle and I can't wait to decorate it for the holidays! Will post photos when its done! I have been in and out of my craft room over the summer, here are some of the projects that I made.

We are finally getting our inside stairs done, just need the rail installed and trim. It's going to be so nice to decorate a real stair rail this year in stead of a 2 x 4 piece of wood that was the old stair rail for 3 years. It didn't matter how much garland or lights I put on it, it was still a piece of 2 x 4! Next project is new dog lots and a fenced in area attached to the new dog lots for them to play, this project I am most excited about. The dogs stay in dog lots but we let them out 3-4 times a day, they run and play around the entire property (which is fenced in but has a large wooded area in the front) With all the snakes it will make us feel so much better having a safe place for them to run and play, at least during the 6 months when the snakes are out. Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful week! Annette :)

Happy Spring!

I can't believe Spring is just a few days away, this year is flying by! I've been working in the garden the past few weeks pulling weeds and getting it ready for planting. I also planted two rows of peas, can't wait until they ripen - there's nothing like picking fresh peas and eating them right out of the pod! Brings back a sweet memory when I was young, we were visiting family in New Zealand and my mom took us to a farm that had a huge pea garden. We picked peas and ate and ate, not sure if we were supposed to eat them but I remember very well looking around to see if anyone was watching while we crammed handfuls of peas in our mouth! I've been having fun making felt gift bags. I made this first one using fuzzy fur with a Papertrey Ink bunny die. The grass is knotted fabric attached with a glue gun. I made this bag out of muslin and added one of my furry bunnies and some Melissa Frances fringe netting trim. Tag has a felt egg with little white pearl beads. Easter tags made with PTI bunny die using fuzzy fur and tulip die using felt. Shabby card made using PTI word die with felt. Felt bag with an owl made from fabric and felt with some handstitching. A birthday card using PTI cupcake die with felt, cardboard, acrylic paint, sheer flower and Melissa Frances trim (I love that stuff!) And one more bag using polka dot felt with PTI cupcake dies and felt. I apologize for my messy blog layout. No matter how much I separate paragraphs they are all running together and words are wraping around photos. My photos are separated when creating my post but some of them are showing up side by side. ?? It never use to do this and I haven't changed anything but the blog posting format changed in the past few months so I'm sure that has something to do with it. I can't even post photos in Explorer anymore and have to use Firefox to post photos. I've piddle around and can't figure out how to get it back the way it was, I give up! Oh well, maybe one of these days I'll get it fixed! Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a lovely day! Annette :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day, hope it is sweet and full of love! Even though Terry and I have been together for over 12 years this will be our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. No romantic dinner for us though as I'm having a few medical procedures done on the 15th and only get clear liquids the day before, which falls on Valentine's day. We will definitely have to make up for it another day! I have a few crafty things to share. I made this felt Valentine gift bag about a month ago. As always my posts are too long in between! I used Papertrey Ink heart die for the top and bottom border and hand stitched around the edges. Made another one more recently using Papertrey Ink ice cream die with pastel felts and machine stitched around them. Tag is also PTI dies and stamps. I'm working on a fabric Easter bunny bag which I'll share next post, which will be soon! I made a baby girl album for a very sweet Etsy friend who had a little baby girl in October last year. Her name is Kaydence and she is absolutely adorable! I added lots of pockets and places for mommy to write and add photos. Here are some of the pages of the album. A shabby fan card.... And a couple fun Easter cards using some stash from last year's collection from We R Memory Keepers. That's about it for now, I'll be back soon with more! Annette :)

Happy New Year!

I can't believe another year has come and gone! Now the challenge is to remember to write 2013 on my checks - LOL! We had a visitor on Christmas Eve day at the front gate, an emaciptated dog. It was worse than the ones you see on the TV commercial, you know - the one where you have to switch the channel because it is so sad. I put our other dogs up and then gave it some dry dog food through the fence, the poor little dog couldn't eat fast enough. It was a medium size short hair female dog and looked to be about 6 months old, kind of hard to tell as it was just bones covered with skin, I have never seen anything like it. It broke my heart and brought me to tears that someone could be so cruel to an animal and just dump it off somewhere. I called Terry who was about 30 minutes away picking up a country ham he had ordered for his parents. I asked him if he would call his friends who own a store about 5 miles from us that has kennels in the back of it with rescued dogs. The problem is they usually don't take dogs because they are always full. I was so happy when he called back and they said they would take the dog, yay! While I waited for Terry to come back to pick up the dog I got a collar and leash and brought it inside the fence as I didn't want it to run away. The collar was on the smallest hole and it slid right over her head with lots of extra room. (I dont think it was going to leave it's food source though but didn't want to take a chance.) I also gave it a can of wet dog food, boy was she happy to be eating! My day was 100 times better when Terry drove away with this sweet little dog, I was so happy we had a chance to save her, what a great Christmas gift! Terry went to visit the dog (I call her Eve because she was rescued on Christmas Eve) yesterday and he said you wouldn't even recognize her. She was fat and looked like a different dog and also there was someone interested in adopting her! If only we could rescue all the stray animals and find homes for them! I have some shabby cards to share. On this first card I made a canvas and fabric envelope and created a tag for the pocket.

I used Papertrey Ink dies on this card.

A couple shabby Valentines.

Created some Cupid Valentine Tags. The cupids were originally gold and I painted them to give them a different look.

And lastly a birthday card.

Have a bit of good news to share. After being together 12 years, Terry and I got married on 12/12/12! We eloped, it was very low key, just the two of us on a rainy day at the county jail with two cops as our witnesses! I was not planning on getting married at the jail but that's where the magistrate was so if I wanted 12/12/12 as anniversary date that is where it had to be. No complaints though, I married my best friend and that's all that mattered! So happy to start 2013 with my new husband! Now I just have to get used to saying husband instead of boyfriend! Have a lovely weekend! Annette