Sunday, July 29, 2007

Craftiness...

Meet Sadie and Sam...My latest 'sockies'...I found the cutest book and am just inspired by ALL of the toys inside. These are the first two cuties that I attempted and boy did they come out cute. Sadie is supposed to be a monkey, but no tail? Her dress was a little to thick to 'smock', but she's cute.







I can't remember this dolls name. Logan came up with one (you know the same person that came up with Inga and Flocka...so, no surprise that I can't remember this one...). She is from that cute book too. Her arms are kinda kooky, and Logan thinks that her pants are ugly, so we'll revamp her outfit and then she'll earn a face! AND maybe some shoes. In the book there are all kinds of clothes patterns for her.

And here is the book, the picture on the front that inspired me and the inspirees?? You have to check out the book or just email me and I'll send you pictures. You do have to enlarge most of the patterns to 200% so as long as you have a scanner at home or like me access to a wide format machine at work, it's easy.

And finally a craft I'm constantly working on. When my mom passed away we were talking about how she always knew EVERYONE's birthday. We thought that she had some great memory or something...Well, when my dad was packing to move, he found my mom's secret trick. A little recipe box with month tabs that had an index card with every one's bday/anniversary, etc. on it!! Well, I was at Goodwill about a month ago and found this vintage box with the month tabs ALREADY in it! I bought some colorful cards from work and started the process. Then I decided that these little glass pressed flowers that I got on my last trip in Texas needed to go on the top...I'm continually going to work on the box. I'm sorry to Donny, but this is the first time that I remembered (or even knew) that it was your bday! And I sent a card and a little crafty! And as I look through the tabs, the next group isn't until September! I'm ON it!

That's about it from here...I was digging for pictures to share with my friend from high school, so as I blog today, I'm scanning in some really embarrassing pictures from long ago to share with her here...

Enjoy the day, the things you make, and the way making something makes you feel!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Blast from the Past...

So, I got an email the other day from my best friend from high school. Wow...Soooo many memories came blasting back. She and her family are living happily in Texas. She has been married for 19 years and has 4 kids...That's the life.

Ever think that there is divine intervention some how at work?? It's funny. I had been thinking that my husband has led such a diverse life - from crazy times in high school to growing up in the country with friends and homemade meals...It's not that he talks about it all of the time, but every now and again I get 'snippets' from his past life. We've only known each other for about 7 years now. I didn't know him growing up, from high school, from work...I just met him when he was going through a 'new' chapter in his life just as I was going through one, too. I was thinking that the only thing that I've done in my life is work with a little (very little) craziness thrown in for fun. When my long lost friend emailed me, it reminded me of the silly times WE had growing up. She reminded me of the days at the lake with our friends, just driving down the street playing music really loud, band practice, the blisters on our thumbs and fingers from twirling our flags, the white tape we would carry religiously to protect those blisters, the leg warmers over our jeans at band practice...and the boys of course. We were really good kids, we just had good clean fun - a little drinking here and there and some mean games of 'quarters' but we had 'silly' fun - not hurtful, mean, disrespectful fun...

I have to say that I really thank you, Sherry, for emailing me and reminding me of the fun we used to have. We learned a lot about life those years, shed a lot of tears, but I really feel proud of the Flag Corp team we were a part of - even to this day I can only think of the good things. (yes, I'm still a 'glass half FULL' thinking girl) You emailed me at a time I really needed to remember those times and you and our friendship. I don't really remember what happened to us specifically, I just know that we headed in different directions when all was said and done. I don't keep up with Nollie, Marsha, or Mary but Lisa White and I found each other a few years ago and she kept me up on the gossip with the group. I don't know what ever happened to Angie, Shannon or Eric but am really scared of that groups outcome...

So, I'll dig out some crazy photos of us during those years and shock my friends and family who keep tabs on me here...

Thanks, again, Sherry.

Enjoy your life. Enjoy your friends and family - past, present and future.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Back to Swapping...

Yes, I signed up for another swap. It's been about 2-3 months since I last swapped...I had lost my crafting mojo and have just recently found a few things to inspire me. I kinda forced myself into this one - signing up on the last day available so there wouldn't be any turning back. Not only did I sign up for this 'birdie' swap, it had 5 partners AND international!! When I tiptoe back into the swapping game, I really stomp on in with my big ole feet, huh? Well, anyway, this is my little birdie. I made five of them, but I can only get about half to actually stand. They really all have such cute personalities!! After I made these five, I got a cute little book with cute little stuffed animal patterns. One is a sock monkey (not your tipical one) and patterns for their clothes...I took the book to work and enlarged all of the patterns and they really are coming out cute!! I think that I'm getting inspired again to craft! YIPPEE!!

What are friends for?

It was bath time for Ellie - a little stinky from digging, playing, rolling, etc...So, she layed down and enjoyed the attention of us scrubbing, washing, picking at her, etc. Then, I brought her inside to help prevent her from rolling in the dirt again. Along comes her buddy to help dry her. Ellie takes the front, and Kitkat takes the back...They sleep together and sometimes you can see Ellie dragging something white and fluffy behind her - KitKat loves to pounce on Ellies tail and sometimes likes to go for a little 'drag' with her...They are really funny. So, I'd say that she is feeling just fine now. Our neighbor 'vet' said that she had had her front legs broken before, her whiskers are cut and she had a bad infection in her chest. Poor thing. She has a good home now until we find someone to take her in. She is a little tooo feisty for the other cats and I think that they see her as a nagging little sister. Funny.

Well, it's Back to School time at work and you just wouldn't believe the craziness. I didn't realize the competition for School supplies is soooo fierce. We had to move up one of our 'penny' ads just to compete with Office Depot and WalMart. We had pencils, pencil sharpeners, pencil boxes, glue, folders, etc. all for one penny!! So, if anyone needs any of those items, I promptly spent my .25 and got a few things to stow away. This week we are having a great .15 sale on paper, etc. Craziness.

We are getting plenty of rain around here now. It almost seems like time for fall because of how the sky looks. I know that my Texas family is getting drenched constantly, so I really can't complain about a few days of sprinkles and thunder! Hopefully they will dry out soon!!

Enjoy the rain, the great sales at Staples, and the thought of the kids going back to school!!

July 5th, 2007

Happy-Day-After-The-4th-and-Time-to-Clean-Up-After-the-Festivities-Day

Here we are in all of our tie-dye wonderfulness...We had a really nice day and we loved our coordinating outfits! The weather was nice and mild and the breeze was just enough to keep us cool. We enjoyed the day with the neighbors and cooked the usual hamburgers and hot dogs. We were all supposed to make food that was red, white and blue but I fell a little short in that category. Logan, Lane and I decided that we would make a cake and mix up some icing in those colors...Well, once we got started with the icing we fell a little short on the colors...

So here is our cake that is celebrating the country of IXPLADKLFN and their independence day. We celebrate ALL countries in our little Sparrow Pointe....

Logan and her patriotic self! She and the other girls were drawing flags and goodies with the all time favorite item - side walk chalk. You can never have too much of that!

You'll notice that there aren't any pictures of Ellie as she is a fradey-cat when it come to fireworks. She was decorated with plenty of ribbons during the day to be a festive part of the family, but when it was time for fireworks, she became a happy dog in the laundry room with the door closed. That is her favorite spot when there are storms and fireworks. We read up on a lot of issues with the Golden Retrievers and the experts say that they need a spot that is THEIRS that is dark and quiet so they can relax and feel safe...Well, thanks to a big laundry room that is in the middle of the house with no windows, etc. we can put a load of laundry in for a little drowning out noise and she's a happy camper!

I hope you all enjoyed your 4th. We did and we enjoyed our day with our friends!

Time to clean up the neighborhood now!

Enjoy the holiday!

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Getting ready for the 4th!

We decided to 'make/create' our 4th of July fashions this year. So, we dug out old white tshirts, found some Ritz fabric dye and went to work. We rubber banded them and used string as well and look how great they came out! We also made a ground cloth for the firework show so we can sit on the grass comfortably!!

The only thing that I'm afraid of is the red...you know how sensitive that color can be when it gets next to white in the washing machine...The directions for the dye said to add a cup of salt and a teaspoon of laundry detergent...Maybe this will help the 'setting in' process??

Introducing....KitKat....

We have added this little baby to our menagerie....She was found running around a parking lot with her family and a customer of mine was trying to do a good thing by rescuing them all. I'm not sure that she was prepared to do all of that. She was telling me the story and she had one baby that needed a good home. I told her to bring her to the store and I would take care of her. Well, she was flea ridden, someone had cut her whiskers and eyebrows and she was bone thin. We have a vet that lives right across the street from us, so she took the poor thing to work with her. She treated her for fleas, worms and everything else and now she is recuperating from an upper respiratory infection. She has been running a temperature and just has been listless, but with her shot she got she should be pouncing away at the other family members! She and Ellie have become good friends - the baby has taken over her dog bed and Ellie sleeps nearby. So, we'll keep you up to date on the little sick thing and keep you up to date on her progress.

The Flowers

I had someone email me about my last blog and the flowers that we were making in Texas. She wanted pictures...

I beaded the petals on about 3 of them, but for some reason, I really like these just like they are. I have ordered some glass beads in the shapes of butterflies and dragon flies, etc. so maybe they'll become additions to these flowers...not sure. Anyway, they are silver spoons. I drilled holes in the spoon after I flattened them with a hammer. I took just plain 24 gage wire and started looping. I experimented and came out with some of my most favorite crafts and most memorable. My dad and his tools came in handy. He helped them come to life in more ways than one!!

Okay, I think that should just about catch everyone up on the things here in SC.

Remember to enjoy what you do and who you do it with!!