What have I been up to???

Hey guys, I'm still alive. I've been meaning to blog for a while but time just never presented itself. So I have a few things to show.

I finally finished my "O" quilt a few weeks ago! After a huge hiatus from it due to the biggest disaster in sewing room history (lol just kidding) I got back to work on it and once I got on a roll it only took a few weeks to finish (taking spare moments at night and on weekends). Here's a picture of it basted and ready for quilting:


After it was quilted and the binding attached I spent some hours out on my porch with Dexter stitching the binding to the back (boy that took time) but it was nice to look out at the pond and watch the ducks as I stitched. And of course he had to supervise (don't all cats?)


But after all that work, it was finally done. And I was very happy with it!
It was so late when I finished, but I wanted to take pictures and post on my Facebook. That's why the lighting is so terrible. Sorry bout that!


Also, my boyfriend and I went to Sarasota for the 4th of July weekend, to check out the beaches on the west coast of Florida (I grew up on the east coast in Satellite Beach, near Melbourne, FL). We had a great time, and they had free beach wheelchairs to use! JD pushed me all the way down near the water and set up our little area. The sky was overcast so it never got really hot, although we got sunburned. I am not used to going out in the sun and should have put more sunblock on. Oh well, live and learn. I've finally stopped peeling...yuk! Here's the two of us under our umbrella!


There were adorable terns with black heads everywhere, so I snapped a few pics of them, this one appeared to be posing just for me:


JD had a blast, and has been bugging me ever since to go back to the beach. So this weekend we are planning just a day trip to Daytona Beach, which is just an hour away.

By the way, on the way out of town, I saw this:


So I just HAD to stop in! And I finally got my Margo Pattern and some fabric to make my first Margo bag (Lazy Girl Designs).


I can't wait to get started. These are the fabrics I chose, all from the Cherish Nature line by Deb Strain for Moda Fabrics. I JUST LOVE THE BEES!!


So yeah, I know I've been gone a long time, but I spend more time thinking about quilting, blogging, etc. and less time actually doing them. LOL Hope everyone is having a fun summer, I feel like I need another vacation already... :)

And She Reappears...

Hi all, once again I space out and don't update my blog. Spending way too much time looking at other people's blogs and not taking care of my own! Not to mention the fact I have been LESS than creative for a long time. My sewing room is still a disaster area, as it had turned into a storage unit for things I didn't know what to do with as my boyfriend and I clear the clutter and junk from our tiny home.

In my blog surfing I have come across several organizing blogs which I will post in a couple days, but I just signed up today for 52 Missions, which is a program that gives you a 30 minute mission a week to organize and streamline your life and stuff. And boy I could use all the help I can get.

My dear boyfriend JD has really helped me re-evaluate the stuff I've held onto for so long, like electronics and computer parts/software that are OLD as the hills, and other things like clothes I never wore and still had the tags. He helped me release these things and slowly our home is getting easier to take care of and clean, which is good for him since I am unable to do most of the housework due to my respiratory problems. Sometimes it seems like he's trying to get rid of all my stuff but I realize that I don't need it and its just taking up valuable real estate (and collecting dust...).

We are saving the sewing room for last since it is the biggest, scariest room in the house. We worked a bit in it last week but I got tired both physically and emotionally. I gave an old sewing machine and serger away to a classmate of his who also sews, and she was super-thrilled. Plus it gave me about nine cubic feet of space back!

I am too embarrassed to show pictures of the sewing room, so I won't. It is better than it was, but there's still stuff on the cutting table, stuff in a pile on the floor, and stuff spread out on the pressing area. Its STUFF STUFF and MORE STUFF! And it will be the hardest to let go of, which is why I'm putting it off.

I want so desperately though to get it in order, so I can get back to what I love, sewing. I recently bought the new Maggie pattern from Lazy Girl Designs, and I'm hoping to make one this century...lol!

Anyway, hope you all have a Merry Christmas if I don't get back on before then...Take care.

Mom's Birthday 2009

Ok so I've been gone again...sorry! And I've been looking back at my posts, and realized I never posted the Miranda bag (Lazy Girl Designs) I made Mom for Christmas! OMG I'm terrible. I used Moda's Cotton Blossoms fabric, which is absolutely GORGEOUS! Here's a couple pics of it:



I also for her birthday made a matching pouch, using instructions from a blog I stumbled across in my surfing (or blurfing as it is also known). The name of the blog is so cute, Flossie Teacakes! The tutorial for the pouch can be found here, and I modified the size a little. But other than that I followed her directions and it came out pretty nice. Here's a couple pics of the pouch, one of the outside, one of the inside:



Lastly, here is a picture of the birthday card I made. I used the Stampin' UP! Top Note Die for the Big Shot machine and the colors I used are Pink Pirouette and Kiwi Kiss (both retired boo hoo!). I love the little flowers, from Heartfelt Thanks stamp set which also retired! BUMMER! It is one of my favorite Stampin' Up sets.


Anyway, hope you enjoy! Any questions just ask!

One Down, Three to GO!!

The Magic beat the Lakers!!! YAYAYAY!! Boyfriend and I stayed up late to watch the game and it was well worth it to see our boys give it to those silly Lakers. Oh please let the Magic get some respect now...

Oh and I joined Twitter today, in the hopes of winning tickets to tomorrow night's game. I have added Twitter updates to my blog at the right, not that I will be tweeting all the time, as my life is not as exciting as say Dwight Howard or Ashton Kutcher...But who knows, there might be something interesting that happens that I just HAVE to tweet about...lol

GO MAGIC!!

Disappointed...

Ok so Boyfriend and I watched the Magic against the Lakers last night, and it started off good, but then at the half the Magic were down ten points. We got a bad feeling and I needed something to do to keep my hands busy because I was so nervous. So I got out some yard skeins I bought at Joann.com at the beginning of December and started winding them into balls so I can eventually start on another afghan. Oh and I cut my finger with scissors opening the box (OMG can't believe I hadn't even opened the package since December...sigh), ouch!

Well not to turn this blog into a sports blog, but they lost, by a lot (25 points). I'm sad today. I hope they take that beating and use it as inspiration to kick the pants off of the Lakers on Sunday...If they get swept they will never get the respect they deserve.

I only got five balls wound, man that hurts my wrists and arms...I'm such a wimp...

They Did It!!

WOOHOO! The Magic are going to the Finals!! Last night Boyfriend and I went to Hooters (ya ya, they have good chicken fingers!) and watched the game and had so much fun yelling and screaming with all the other patrons. It is so funny, when Mom and I got into watching the Magic in 1994-1995, they went to the Finals. Then we lost interest as I started getting into major college stuff (engineering study left little time for fun *sigh*). And now that Boyfriend has got me into them again, they're going to the Finals again!! Hmmm, could I be a good luck charm??? Just kidding.

GO MAGIC!!

GO MAGIC!!

OMG what a tense basketball game last night. The Orlando Magic are now leading the series 3-1 against Cleveland for the Eastern Conference Finals!! Boyfriend has now made me a Orlando Magic fan like him, although my mom and I watched them in 1994-1995 when Penny Hardaway and Shaq helped the team win the Eastern Conference title and then were stomped by the Houston Rockets who swept them 4-0 for the NBA championship title.

I am hoping against hope that the Magic can beat those silly Cavaliers to win the Eastern Conference and then go on to beat whoever is going to win the Western Conference (will it be the Lakers or the Nuggets?? MMM nuggets...I want Wendy's chicken nuggets...)

The last game Boyfriend and I went to was in the first series against Philadelphia, and were heartbroken when they lost that game. But we came back and won that series! We couldnt get tickets to any of the games against Boston, and forget the home games against Cleveland! They sold out in 6 minutes!! We did get t-shirts though at the game against Philadelphia, although they are XL and I am more like an XS...I told Boyfriend if we beat Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals I am cutting down my shirt to make it fit, so I can wear it with PRIDE!! He laughed and said make it a tiny bikini...MEN...

Anyway, GO MAGIC!

Special Someone

Oh wow have I been gone a while or what? Well, let's just say that a special someone (hee hee)came into my life around Christmas and I have been a bit distracted for a few months. I've never had a relationship before and so I guess I've been making up for lost time spending as many spare moments with him as I can...

But...I promise to be a better blogger, and get back to being creative...he'll just have to do without all the attention he'd been getting for a little bit every day. LOL

Hope everyone out there in blog land is doing well!

P.S. Dexter likes him too, which is VERY important to me... :)

Thanksgiving/35th Birthday 2008

I spent Thanksgiving at my mom's house in Satellite Beach where I grew up. We went out to dinner for Turkey Day since it was just us and her her friend Reno. Poor mom didn't get the right order and by the time they would have the right dish out to her Reno and I would have been finished! So they comp'ed our entire meal and mom ate off of Reno's plate. He had plenty...

As for my birthday, it was the following Saturday. We were planning on going to EPCOT or Animal Kindom (Disney) but chickened out because we just KNEW it would be a madhouse at the theme parks since it was a holiday weekend. So I just bummed around the house and we went out to dinner at Olive Garden.

My mom made me a birthday cake which we started eating on Thanksgiving. It was white cake with chocolate icing, and she handmade the "bees" that decorated it. YUMMMMM YUMMMMM!


She also made me a couple cards, one from her with a little matching box with M&M's in it, and one "from Dexter" as shown below. I got a couple beautiful sweaters (argyle cardigans from Target) and also Prison Break Seasons 1 through 3 on DVD. I LOVE that show. It is such a great show. Reno got me a cute pair of earrings that I just love. It was a nice quiet birthday, just how I like it. After all, I'm getting older...lol!


Hope everyone had a great T-giving, and has a Merry Merry Christmas!

Afghans Part Deux

Finito! I finished my beige afghan I started a few weeks ago this weekend. I haven't been able to test it on the couch (protection from Dexter's claws) to see if it is large enough, but if not I can put it on the new wing chair to protect it. Here is a shot of it on my bed. It actually is a bit bigger than I expected!


Of course a new project cannot go with out a look-see by the resident inspector. Not five minutes after the above picture was taken did Dexter jump up and check out the new afghan. He LOVES afghans, especially on a cold night (it's chilly for Florida right now).


I'm a bit disappointed in my crocheting as the border is a little ripply and wavy. But I guess it doesn't matter since it's going to be stretched out of shape anyway with use...lol! I've really enjoyed crocheting these past couple months. But as usual my ADD when it comes to projects has me looking to switch gears and get back in the sewing room. I have three Miranda bags to make and haven't even started them. Hopefully soon I can get in there this week and at least cut the fabrics.

Take care all!

Afghans!

I've been crocheting! I finished this afghan a month or so ago, and am just now getting around to getting a picture of it. I started this patriotic afghan YEARS ago (heehee) when I was still living in an apartment. I've been in this house six years (my anniversary of home ownership was on September 30th!) so that tells you just how long it took. Actually, I stopped working on it around the same time I moved in to the house, so really it was a UFO (unfinished object). I looked at the basket it was in all the time, and kept saying, I should really finish that...


Well, I finally went to the basket and as I looked through it I realized I only had one square left if I decided to make it smaller than the instructions said. So I finshed the last square and sewed them all together and did the border. It only took a weekend to finish up. Finally an accomplishment!

I started another afghan to put on my new couch (pictures to come soon!) to protect it from Dexter's claws. Mom and I have kept his nails trimmed and so far he has not taken interest in shredding the new furniture, hopefully he will continue to use his scratch pad. I so far have made 25 of these squares:


I only have 10 more squares to go and then sew together and do the border. I'm trying to sew them together as I go so it's not too overwhelming. I have been crocheting on and off for a really long time, and when I get into it I really enjoy it. My favorite projects are the Q-hook ones that use the big fat hook and three strands of yarn held together as one. They really whip up fast! I once did an afghan in a weekend!

Anyway, when I finish the latest afghan I will post a picture. Maybe I will see if I can get pictures of the other afghans I've made over the years. Take care!

The Boss' Birthday

I have the best boss in the entire world. And I can say that because he doesn't check my blog so it's not like I'm kissin' butt...hahah! His birthday is tomorrow, and I decided to make him a small card to celebrate the day. Poor guy has to work because we are super busy trying to wrap up a few projects.


This card is made from a 3x3 inch Old Olive card base. I cut a 2 1/2 inch square of the leaf print from the Fall Flowers Designer Paper collection, and matted it in Whisper White. I tied a strip of Old Olive Poly Twill ribbon around it, and added a Super Jumbo scallop rectangle tag with the sentiment from the One of a Kind set stamped in Old Olive. The tag is popped up on dimensionals as is the matted square.

It was a quick and easy card to make, made in under 20 minutes. But that doesn't mean I don't care! Claude took a chance on a fresh out of college engineering student 9 years ago, and I only hope I continue to make him happy he hired me. Hope he has as happy a birthday as he deserves...

Mother's Day 2008

I know Mother's Day was several weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting the card and gift bag I made for my mom. Sorry for the delay!! LOL


I stamped the floral motif from the One of a Kind set in Basic Brown so i could watercolor it using Soft Sky ink. I did this three times and cut them out, and glued them to the top portion of a Soft Sky card base. I only glued the center so I could curl the petals up. I cut a one and a half inch strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock and scalloped the bottom edge using the corner rounder punch. I cut a one inch strip of the brown and sky stripe pattern of the Afternoon Tea designer paper and glued it to the strip of Choco Chip leaving an 1/8th inch at the top. I glued this strip about 5/8th inch from the bottom of the card base. I stamped "love you" from the Short and Sweet set in Choco chip in the bottom right corner.

For the gift bag, I used the Blessing Mix Box pattern I found on Angie Kennedy Juda's website (see here) only I accidentally scored at the wrong places so my bag is shorter and fatter...but still cute. I made it with the same stripe pattern paper as the card, and added a tag to the front with a scalloped rectangle in Chocolate Chip (Mega Punch) and a scrap of the reverse side of the stripe paper and Whisper White. The sentiment is from One of a Kind in Chocolate Chip. The ribbon is Soft Sky Double Stitched Ribbon. Mom loved both the card and bag, not to mention the necklace inside...! Thanks for looking...

Dandelion Girl Gracie

Haven't been in the sewing room much lately, but for my mom's birthday this year I wanted to make her another Gracie bag (from the AWESOME Lazy Girl Designs pattern) out of the lovely Dandelion Girl fabric line from Moda. I used the brown color way and the cool patterned fabric and solid that matches. Found a cool button at Joann's that matched pretty close. I love this pattern so much. It really whips together fast.


Dexter must ALWAYS inspect any bag, quilt or other project before giving, so here's a shot of him with the inside of the bag...he's a ham.


Must mention that I used the Velcro Fusion again. LOVE THIS PRODUCT! Also, after I attached the flap, I realized I hadn't topstitched around it! So instead of frog-stitching (rippit rippit) I somehow was able to topstitch it by pulling it away from the rest of the bag as best I could. Luckily it worked out! I have some scraps left over of both fabrics and hope to make something else, probably a Wonder Wallet! Thanks for stopping by!

Mom's Birthday Card 2008

Here is the card I made for my mom's birthday this year. I used Splitcoast's Color Combo #171 which is Soft Sky (retiring), Kraft and Black. I love Soft Sky and Black. I also love Soft Sky and Chocolate. I'm sorry to see Soft Sky go, but I believe one of the new In Colors is a close match, maybe a bit darker.


I used the Embrace Life stamp set for this card, and also the Happy Birthday stamp from the Warmest Regards set. Once again I tried my hand at watercoloring using Soft Sky ink from the pad and a waterbrush for the focal image (stamped in black Stazon, matted in Kraft and Black cardstock, and attached with dimensionals). The background is stamped on the Soft Sky cardstock in the same ink, with a piece of Soft Sky double stitched ribbon tied around it and attached to a Kraft card base. Thanks for looking!

New Signature On My Blog!

I've been blog hopping and noticed that some of my favorite bloggers have a signature that looks like it was handwritten. I clicked on one of the signatures and it took me to MyLiveSignature where I could create my own signature to add to my blog posts. I don't really like my handwriting so I chose Font #67 and used the wizard to create my sig. I like it! Anyone looking to create a handwritten look to their signature should check this site out. It's free.

Dexter says, "Vote Republican!"

Today mom and I went to Target and were down the cat food/toy aisle and I saw these adorable hats for cats...


He doesn't look too happy here...so needless to say we took it off (Im not THAT cruel...lol).


Anyway, we also got him a scratch pad which was covered in catnip, which he ate some of. Dexter doesn't go nuts on the nip, but he does drool (see photo below for evidence) and rubs his face on it.


He pulled the scratch pad out of the box by turning it over, and all the catnip fell out onto the tile. Mom was like, "BONANZA!" She quickly swept it up before Dex OD'd.

Anyway, hope to have some photos this week of projects and stuff. I've been out of it for a while. Thanks for stoppin' by!

Color Inspiration #5 from Kristina Werner

My mom and I are huge fans of Kristina Werner. She has on her blog every week a Color Inspiration where she takes pictures (usually of home decor items) from magazines and converts the colors to Stampin' Up colors, giving us a color combo to work with. This week the colors are Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, and Bashful Blue. Here is my card for this combo:


For this card I pulled out a set I've had for a LONG time but never inked up. I have a lot of those sets...(sigh). It is called Sheltering Tree. I stamped the leaves in Certainly Celery and then the trunk in Close to Cocoa (using the stamp-a-ma-jig to get things lined up YAY!). I used the little flower stamp in Bashful Blue in the spaces provided and scribbled some grass at the tree base with my celery marker. I trimmed this image down, matted it in So Saffron, and again in Celery.

I made a Bashful Blue card base and tied a piece of striped ribbon around the front. This ribbon AMAZINGLY had every color except cocoa...couldn't have planned it better. It came from an old Ribbon Originals collection called Seaside. I stamped Thinking of You from the Warmest Regards set in Close to Cocoa at the bottom right and then placed the tree image above it with dimensionals. Thanks for having a look, and thanks to Kristina for the inspiration!

I Can Has Cheezburger?

I love this website! If you like cats (and other animals) you will too. People take interesting pictures of animals and then caption them. For example, this one:


see more crazy cat pics

I've got it bookmarked and am going to check it everyday for a laugh!

With Sympathy Card for Nancy

I hadn't had the need to make a sympathy card since I started my card-making hobby, until recently when the husband of my friend Nancy passed away from cancer. I made this card a couple weeks ago.


It's a simple design, using Mellow Moss and Basic Black, with the fern stamp from the Stem Silhouettes set by Stampin' Up! stamped in Mellow Moss on Whisper White. I tied black gingham ribbon around the focal image and attached it with dimensionals. The sentiment is from the Warmest Regards set stamped in Black Stazon ink.

I pray that Nancy and her family and close friends find comfort during this time. I never got to meet her husband Jacques but have been told that he was a joy to be around. God bless him and his family and friends!