Puppet Profit!!

Puppets, puppets EVERYWHERE!! One day back in June, my son and I had a spur of the moment idea...SOCK PUPPETS!! Toddler was playing with a sock on his hand, 4 yr. old decided he needed one too...VOILA! Craft idea!

We were at grandma's house who happened to have a HUGE bag of sock singles. We dug out about 2 dozen socks, dug out her yarn and felt stash, cut up her caffeine free Diet Coke boxes and searched all over for the hot glue sticks. Then made these fun Fairy Friends!!

SO CUTE!! Both boys got to keep one, then we sold the rest at the Ye Merry Greenwood Faire we went to also with grandma (who had a booth of fairies!) We didn't have to buy ANY supplies!

If you want to make one for your child...check out this tutorial by DownWithClutter.

ENJOY!!

Professional Photographer ebook Giveaway

Ever since last fall when I obtained a new digital camera, my blog posting has declined. My new camera came with an owner's manual on a cd that I had to download, I felt ripped off! I enjoy reading an owners manual in my hands, taking it with me whereever I go. Now I had to read it on a computer which I am constantly trying to keep computer time to a minimum. So, the learning process has been greatly slowed due to my lack of interest in downloading a digital owner's manual. Well, today, low and behold, Grosgrain is hosting yet another fabulous giveaway for an ebook put together by a photographer. PERFECT!!

The Key to Taking Pictures Like a Professional Photographer ebook Giveaway

This may not be my camera's manual, but I am pretty sure it would be a great resource to learn a lot from. It would still be on the computer, but it would most likely be in a written language understandable by me. Thank you Grosgrain for hosting such wonderful giveaways!

New Skirt Love

About a year ago I posted about some ModCloth skirts that I wanted to attempt to create for myself. (Still have yet to create those, but I did just find that fabric again today actually!) Well, this year I stumbled across another site in a skirt search for myself to possibly make and wear to Farm Chicks. I found both on Zappos.com, never been to that site before...

This first one would have worked for Farm Chicks, had I tried to make it, maybe with a denim waist band instead. This second one is a Lily Pulitzer skirt and just looked like a fun one to make for a fun summer day... ...AND it reminded me of a recent Grosgrain tutorial, so I thought, HEY! I could do that! I did find one on Modcloth today too, though, and I already have the fabric for it. I just need that satin looking bias trim, if that's what it is.

Thought I'd share some of that with you. Enjoy!

I'm kinda here...

I've finally found some motivation and may be back to crafting again. This past fall/winter proved to be a pretty challenging one for the first time in my life. I'm not one who is prone to seasonal depression, I honestly do not know much about it. I just know that the sun is such a huge motivating factor to my day. This winter was pretty dreary and overcast. Plus add the fact that I experienced a huge loss in February, the passing of my father. It just added to my lack of want to do anything.

With the coming of spring, our days have been sunnier and bright. This past week, almost every day was in the 70's! SO NICE! I have started crafting again and have a few things to share...

Back in February I participated in Yarni Gras ornament swap, a gnome home. I had a marvelous idea that proved to be time consuming and required patience with the final installation. This little gnome is sleeping in a "captured" home with a couple toadstoals and at the end of a rainbow. I pray that it makes it in one piece!

The rest of the package included a Welcome Gnome plaque, a dove bar, two magnets of layered vintage buttons (I first had this idea last June from a vendor at Farm Chicks, it onlly took me 11 months to finally create them!) and one of my owls from Moonstitches online tutowlrial. I hope Kerry enjoys it all and doesn't see this post before they arrive!

I also sewed a few blocks for the Block Lotto this month...they proved to be quite a challenge since I did not have an opportunity to trim them to size, they had to be perfectly sewn to achieve size. It was a good lesson for me and they were fun to create!

I also sewed a dress for a parade. Our MOPS group participated in the Jr. Lilac Day Parade and we dressed up in the 1950's era. It was a Simplicity Project Runway pattern....if I get to it....I will post it soon.

Have a great weekend!

Update?

I don't think this will be an update, I'm here to confess that I have had no motivation these past couple months for adding new projects or pictures to this blog. Or to even just type about what I've been up to. Maybe it's a rut, I'm not sure. I've been crafty and creative but the camera issue a few months back really made me lose the desire to take new pics and share. I'm slowly learning the new camera and I'm getting better at using it, but it's not enough to motivate me.

Quickly though, Christmas was stressful for me; New Years the family was in bed by 10ish, I was by 11:30; January went by in a breeze but we spent the last week of it in HAWAII!! That was a blast!! February has been nothing but illness among all four of us and this past weekend an acquaintance through a group I volunteer with lost her husband to a heart attack at the age of 44. They have four kids and she is due with her 5th this May. My heart goes out to her and all my energy for the next week or more will be to however I can help this family out. I have never experienced a friend losing a spouse. I have experienced friends losing parents, pets, extended family, but that's it. This is new and difficult at the same time.

That is basically all I have right now. No pics, no crafts, nothing in the creative department. I hope you and your family are happy, healthy and safe!

Vacation

I have finally decided to officially declare that I am taking a holiday break for the month of December. With a new camera learning curve and new laptop (debating if I should store pics on it yet) and Christmas around the corner, this blog has fallen to the bottom of my priorities list.

HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY AND SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!

New blocks

A few new blocks for Block Lotto . Requirements were a purple and white 8" center sampler block on point with at least three fabrics of our choice in each corner to make it 12.5" square total. I LOVE how the snails trail one turned out.

I spy Friday...

I spy with my little eye...a one year old talking to his friends. My moms dolls are the same height as him...he got curious about them and kept hanging out with them.

How does your garden grow?

It's mid November and up here in northeastern Washington the average temperature is not very warm...like 30's and 40's averaging. We had our first frost mid September?? I don't remember, but it killed all the tomato plants. Soon after that I brought in our strawberry and pepper plants to the mudroom. I just hope I wasn't too late for those little peppers, they all look dead but I've read that they'll drop their leaves for winter and grow back in the spring. We shall see.
But LOOK at our garden!! I took this pic last week!! We still have sugarsnap peas growing and ripening, the carrots all look great (I'm not sure if they're growing though) and the kohlrabi, while a little bitten up, are still growing too!! REALLY?!??! Into winter??
The ground is still wet and the temperature fluctuates between the high 30's and low 40's. If I read up on my veggies and gardening, I bet I would learn why these plants are still growing in such chilly weather. Although...the kohlrabi are not really growing into a ball, they're just growing. Weird.
Oh, and this is looking straight down onto the pumpkin patch, which is the corner between the back steps and the house, only next year I think we'll be growing that yellow squashes seeds. Dreary looking corner, eh? :)

Funny things in life

Neither my husband nor I ever had ducks growing up. He's a big time city kid and I grew up in a small farming town, so I had more exposure, but not much. We had chicks once, but they grow so fast they were soon sent to my aunts house in the country. Ever since we got our ducks towards the end of August, we've had daily chuckles and smiles put upon our face by these two feathered friends. EVERY single time we walk out the back door, we hear quacking and the quick patter-patter-patter of duck feet over to see us...

SLAM! Patter-patter-patter-patter...
QUAAACK, Quack, quack-quack-quack?? (Translation: OH! You gonna feed us??)
Cuz a snack would be nice, there's fewer bugs out now...
No really, cold weather = fewer bugs...
Seriously,we'd like to have a snack NOW!
So disappointing! Let's go...
EVERY time we walk out back, this is what we get.