Sunday, August 29, 2010

Brownies. And brothers.

Carrie is moved into her new home and nicely settled. This weekend she hosted a housewarming party and asked me to make brownies for the occassion. I had a plan...and it included cuteness.
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My brother {and Carrie's dear uncle} traveled from California to be here this weekend. He stopped by our house yesterday morning before the party and when he saw the pan of brownies I could see his eyes light up...so I offerred him one. {This after warning Doug not to eat too many before the party because I wanted to make sure I had enough for a plate full!}
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I made little flags using toothpicks and Happy Tape and knew I had to wait till we got to Carrie's house to put the flags in - too difficult to wrap with plastic wrap and keep fresh with the flags on top. I took my camera to Carrie's to get one more shot of the brownies before serving them up. {eh-hm...because it's not just brownies, it's a blog post!!!}
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My brother was hovering close by as I removed the plastic wrap from the brownies, little flags in one hand and my camera close by. Before I knew it, he'd grabbed a corner brownie and took a bite before my photo was taken. Ugh! My natural instincts still wanted me to call out, "Mom!!!"
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Oh well. I took a picture of the other end of the plate just for my own satisfaction.

♥ ♥ ♥

The party was a success and it was great to see
friends and family gathering in my daughter's
home, filling her space with love and laughter;
congratulating her and showering her with gifts
and well wishes.
And a partial plate of brownies.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Icing on the cake, and a cherry on top!


Becky is one of my newer blog friends and she has kindly awarded me with the
Cherry on Top Award.
~nice~
:o)
I'm honored to be among the mix of blogs she noted that appeal to her. I'm in good company!



There are 5 rules that go along with this award. They are:

1) That I thank the person who gave me my award! (xoxo Thanks, Becky!)
2) That the receiver places it on their blog
3) Receiver lists 3 things about themselves
4) Receiver posts a picture that they love
5) Tag 5 people for the award to keep it going

So, here I go.
Item #3 ~ Three things about me.

♦ Thing one is that I'm not afraid of bugs or snakes or spiders. I don't particularly LIKE them, but I don't freak out at the sight of them. That being said, I will tell you that I HATE mice. All rodents for that matter. Like, I can't even stand to walk by their cages in a pet store! One summer I allowed Carrie to baby-sit the science class boa constrictor snake. She had to feed it one mouse per month and I actually made her take the entire snake cage outside so the mouse would not have to be brought into the house.

♦ Thing two is that I learned to respect the sewing machine at the age of 8 when I sewed the needle through my left index finger. I was sewing doll clothes on my grandmother's treadle sewing machine (the old, non-electric kind with the foot petal thingy...). I'll confess here that I was using both feet and not paying close attention, making the needle go up and down really really really fast when -boom- my finger was caught in the needle. It broke twice and the third time pinned me into the machine. I remember my mom pulling the pieces out with tweezers near the lamp in my grandma's dark bedroom. The next day I was back on the sewing machine with a bandage around my finger.
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♦ Thing three is that my astrological sign is Taurus, and while I don't really rely on astrology for guidance but rather for fun, I do admit to possessing the main traits: I am practical, reliable, loyal and stubborn. Enough said.
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Item #4 ~ post a picture that I love.

Our crazy cat, Whiskers Jay in the morning.
This picture makes me smile every time.

And item #5 ~ pass the award onto 5 other bloggers.

This award has been making the rounds this week, and many of my regular blog friends have already been tagged, so I thought I'd list five of my current favorites and hopefully you will check them out when you have some time.

♥ My girl Carrie. She's posting more often these days, and she finally found her camera cord which means we'll be seeing more on her blog in the future!

♥ My friend Margaret over at Finnegan Begin Again. This is such a fun blog and I light up every time I see a new post in my reader! She has a true gift with it comes to taking a goddess and making her modern. I can honestly say that I have never read one of her goddess posts without laughing out loud. You've got to check her out!

Flower Patch Farmgirl ~ Sweet and funny stories of her life with three adopted children. The joys, the challenges, the rewards. She is a talented writer and has a way of pulling you in with each and every post. Love her, her stories, and her photos!

♥ For some eye candy by way of beautiful photos, you'll want to check out these two blogs: My friend Traci of Traci Thorson Photography, and Stephanie over at La Dolce Vita. Stunning photos that make me want to quit my day job and learn how to use every feature and button on my camera!!! {Not that knowing how to use all the buttons would make me as good as these ladies, but it would be an improvement for me!}
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Here's wishing each of you a fabulous weekend!
We're headed over to Carrie's house this
afternoon for her official housewarming party.
SOOOOO proud of my girl. :o)
♥ ♥ ♥

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I am forever surrounded by inspiration.

♥ ♥ ♥
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One of the perks of being me {and there are many} is that I am blessed to be surrounded by creative people. Two of my local friends have blogs and I wanted to share those with you here because their recent posts are just so cute!!!

My friend Janae over at Jelly Roll Family Fun is one my most talented friends. Janae and I met while we were both working at a local scrapbook store. Always known for her paper craftiness (amazing eye for color and stationery design), she's recently crossed over to fabric. Look at this cute baby ensemble she made recently for a friend and featured on her blog:

{a onesie, leg warmers, and diaper changing pad}

And then there's my friend Corri over at LoveMorah. Corri and I met as co-workers at the scrapbook store too - so many awesome friendships were formed there! Corri is a paper crafter and awesome finder of vintage things and furniture to refinish. She's been working on a play-mat for her sons (yes, she does fabric too) and posted the finished project on her blog. {sigh...if I only had a grandson I would make one of these in a heartbeat...}

{adorable play pad for her son Avery who LOVES cars}
I'm so fortunate to have so many friends who are so creative! It starts with my daughter Carrie and her ability to spot a great thrift store find, bring it home and make it look fantastic! And there's Jennifer whose scrapbook of her first son (Kingston) is SO awesome and she's using it as a guide for baby number two who will arrive in December. And there's Michelle who can knit like nobody's business! And my friend Vee who is an amazing scrapbook artist. My sister-in-law Liz and niece Savannah who are great scrapbook buddies. My friend Beverly who is an amazing stamper and card maker. My friend Connie (who isn't local but I'm throwing her in the mix anyway) who makes fabulous jewelry pieces. And Kristi who is in Texas now - makes some adorable mini-books! And last but not least, my mom Marti who sewed clothes and dolls for my sister and I when we were little and has recently taken up scrapbooking and cardmaking since she retired.
♥ ♥ ♥

PS: I hesitated to name names here because I'd feel terrible if I left anyone out of this list {and if you are local and crafty and I left you out I love you anyway and am sorry I didn't list you here!!!}. I am blessed beyond measure that I am surrounded by creativity - both local and now on this world wide web...so much inspiration in every direction I turn! Gosh, I'm a lucky girl.
XOXOXOXOXO

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Flower Power


A friend of mine is going to a function and will be wearing a top hat as part of her costume. She wanted to dress it up a little, and when I suggested flowers she loved the idea. I've made a few of these flowers now {made a bunch of them on my recent road trip} and they are so much fun to make.
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I followed this tutorial but I will also show the easy steps right here... Oh so easy!!!
Cut five circles...fold them in half and gather the curved edge.
Sting them together (I use the same long piece of
doubled thread and gather one circle right after another)
...
Add some buttons to the center and stick 'em on a top hat.

♥ ♥ ♥
There are lots of fabric flower tutorials floating
around right now. Have you made any of them?

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Carrie, the Tooth Fairy.

Shortly after we arrived in California earlier this month, my niece Presley announced that she had a loose tooth. Her first loose tooth. I checked it out and declared that it was ready to come out. {You know the point? Where it's barely hanging on? More of an annoyance than a functioning tooth?}
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Thus began a full day of tooth wiggling and resisting having it pulled.
Carrie: "C'mon Pres, let me pull it!"
Presley: "Nooooo...it's gonna' hurt!"
Carrie: "Not really, you'll see, it will be quick and it won't hurt that much. And then the tooth fairy will come tonight!"
Presley: {long pause...seriously considering letting Carrie pull it...} "Will it bleed?"
Carrie: "Mmmmm...maybe..."
Presley: "NOOOOOOOooooooo!"

Finally, after about 8 hours of back and
forth and yes's and no's, the tooth was out.
I'm not sure who was happier, Carrie or Presley.
{ooooh...or me when I uploaded these pictures and
knew they'd make a great layout...}

And yes, it bled.
And yes, she cried for about 10 seconds.
And then all was well in her world.
Having older cousins is a good thing sometimes.

PS: The flowers on my page are some that I stitched in the car on our road trip to California. Perfect for this occasion!

Monday, August 16, 2010

A bunting bag for my girl.

My daughter Carrie does a "Friday's Favorites" feature on her blog and I always look forward to seeing what shows up there. Last week one of the items on her list was a tote bag with bunting sewn across the front (she found it here). When I see stuff like that our typical conversation usually goes like this:

Me: "Oooh! Do you want me to make that for you?"
Carrie: "No, I want to make it myself..."

{a bit of a flashback from when she
was 2 and would say, "Carrie do it!"}

And then {because she's a busy girl} it doesn't get made and I'm left itching to do it but I don't dare cross that line once I've been told not to... However, when I saw the cute bunting tote bag I didn't ask her...I just went ahead and made one for her.

:o}
I'm learning.

****************

In case you're curious, here's how I did it:
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For the flags I ironed fabric together back-to-back with fusible webbing then cut the triangles. I didn't want to sew around each one, and wanted to keep it from fraying so the webbing worked great. I used canvas fabric for a sturdy bag, sewed one side together, opened it up and laid out the flags in the pattern I wanted them.

Then I used masking tape to hold the flags in place while I sewed them on. The canvas is so thick that pinning wasn't an option. {Side note: I bought this light blue masking tape at my local art supply store. It's a lot cheaper than "Happy Tape" - which makes me happy in itself.}

I stitched across the top twice with teal thread {Carrie's favorite color}.




I had fun making it and Carrie loved it.
I want to make more...if it's ok with Carrie.
;o}

Saturday, August 14, 2010

My haiku contribution.

Haiku in blogland.
Trying to think of my own.
Silly peer pressure.
.
:o)

My blogfriend, Rinda is great at coming up with clever ideas to get us thinking in common. She recently posted a photo, wrote a haiku to go with it, and challenged her readers to do the same. I instantly loved the idea and vowed to do one myself.

Day after day went by; and each day brought a new haiku on a familiar blog. With each one that I read I thought, "Oh! I need to do my own before I read too many more of these... What if I can't come up with something original?!?!"

eh-hm.
.
That's when I came up with the haiku at the top of my post. It's sarcastic, I know. I can be that way at times. But I've been counting syllables on my fingers for the past week and it was the first one I wrote that worked!

Alright. Let's be serious. My niece Presley lost her first tooth last weekend - Carrie pulled it for her! So...
Carrie pulled her tooth.
The tooth fairy comes tonight.
Presley's new milestone.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

...to Grandmother's house we go.

Hello Blog Friends!
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We've been so busy re-tiling our floors and taking a road trip that I haven't had much crafting time. I thought I'd throw in a post with some photos taken last week of our road trip "home" for my grandma's birthday celebration. {There's craft stuff at the end if you make it that far!}
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We decided to go through San Diego, California on our way to central California. San Diego is not really "on our way" but it had been a while since we'd seen the ocean and we were craving it so we took the long way there. I took several photos from my car window that seemed like a good idea at the time, but ended up being kind of ridiculous when uploaded. :o\ Know what I mean? Anyway, the photo below is of the dunes just outside of Yuma, Arizona. This is where the Jabba the Hut scenes were filmed for Star Wars.

And some windmills along the way... (It always amazes me that we have this type of resource that's free and non-pollutant and we don't use it to its fullest potential...)
There are so many flowers blooming in the "Little Italy" district in San Diego ...

And of course, Carrie and I found an art store. It was a really good one but we felt a little rushed - which is probably a good thing! We still ended up spending some vacation money here!

Here's Doug and I in an British pub in San Diego. The beer was good and cold! (We laughed thinking about how my British friends would probably scoff at this place. The decorations were very cheesy - including a huge framed "painting" of Princess Diana amongst all the polo memorabilia.)
And here's Carrie in same said pub, not impressed with the parentals {Carrie's term of endearment for us} drinking beer.

Ahhhh...the ocean...

Everyone of us forgot to bring sunglasses, so we bought some cheap pairs on the boardwalk.

Breakfast on the boardwalk...baby's happy now... :o)

From San Diego we headed north to my sister's house. {We never want to drive through Los Angeles again!} On Saturday morning I made God's Eyes with Presley and Carrie.
Then Saturday afternoon was my Grandma's 90th birthday party! I took a TON of pictures but won't bore you with family shots...just a few little glimpses...
My mom made the cutest photo boards with pictures of my Grandma. Don't you love the one in the background of this shot? So cute. And the bird Mom used is one that I made. :o)
Here's a picture of Grandma with some of her great-grand kids. I asked her how many grand kids she had and she rattled it off with a sweet smile and a tone of pride in her voice: "11 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great grandchildren." {look at Presley in the front with her arm around Grandma - and my niece Britny holding a very unhappy Stone...}

We spent Saturday night at my mom's house. I was happy to see that she had her chalk blocks out - here's what they looked like:
And last but not least... Why is it that if I try to read in a moving car I get car sick, but I can stitch and feel just fine? I made 24 flowers with a few scraps I threw in my bag at the last minute. They need buttons in the centers and a project to land on...
I'd love to proclaim that I will make a mini-book out of these road trip pictures but I've gotta' be real. I'm really starting to think about the upcoming holidays and have some big plans for handmade gifts.
And I have a haiku to write.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A flower for your hair...

A while back I made this flower using this tutorial.
{from a blog called 17 Turtles!}

The flower made it's way onto a headband for Presley
{photo shot at night time with flash...}

Here she is modeling it, along side her cousin, Carrie. This photo makes my heart leap just a little.
My pretty girl, and my sister's pretty girl.
We are fortunate moms.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Thanks a bunch! ♥

{me and grandma at her party yesterday}

My sweet blog friends ~


Thank you so much for your sweet comments wishing my grandma a happy 90th birthday. We had such a good trip and the party was awesome. Tonight we are back home, tired and happy after a great visit with my family.


Grandma's actual birthday is Tuesday, the 10th, and I plan to call her that day and read your lovely comments to her over the phone. She will be delighted, I know it.


Love and gratitude,


~ Deb

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!!!

This weekend we celebrate my
grandmother's 90th birthday.

{here she is as a baby with her mother}
.
{and as a teenager with her only sibling - a sister
who is 13 years younger than she}
.
{and with her oldest grandchild last year
when we were both much younger}
I want to be just like my grandma when I'm 90!!!

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