I'M BACK

I really have'nt gone anywhere, I've just been cleaning. I took a break from house duties, which was not such a good idea because that left me with lots of catch up to do. I have cleaned and purged all of the kids rooms, done more loads of laundry than I care to admit. The dishes are done and my sewing table a.k.a the dining room table may be showing acutal signs that dining can be done on it. So, now that that is all done, it's back to crafting and getting ready for The Handmade Parade. I can't wait, this will be the 1st time that I have done anything like this and I am super excited.

I am also super excited about the Secret Santa Christmas Swap that I joined. I love that the internet has allowed me to communicate and interact with people from around the world. It's like having thousands of friends and still having a low phone bill.

I have always loved quilts and only own one. I always wanted to have more to display and use and to hopefully pass down to my kids, but I never thought that I would be able to afford to get one, and then an idea popped into my head-why not make one of your own. So, that is what I am working on right now(if you never hear about this again, that means it did'nt go so well). So, I headed to Barnes and Nobles to find the perfect book to help me...and ended up with two silly monsters in my car instead......

What have I been doing.....

Okay, so I am back, trying to fit in a post while the kids are at vacation bible school. I posted awhile back about the swap that I was doing, and although I got the package from L. about a week ago I had not posted any pics of anything. I do want to let everyone know that I am not a photographer, I look at all the pics out there in blogworld and ooh and ahh. I wish. That will be on my list of things to do right after I master the sewing machine. So here is a sample of some of the great fabrics that L. graced me with.


She also sent me lots of zippers and bindings...she hooked me up. Thanks!!!!!

I also made my very 1st messenger bag, and I must say I am proud of myself for this one. This is for son #3 who saw all the tote bags, but could not bring himself to have pink. I had this Shrek fabric for a while so I decided to see what I could do. If you look closely, you'll see that the lining is from the green striped fabric sent to me by L. (I couldn't wait to use it). It has an adjustable strap courtesy of velcro and a great pocket on the front. My son loves it, and friends have put in there orders. I guess I should get cutting :)




and, last but not least.....I am floored by how well (neat) the homes of fellow bloggers are, and have come to realize that mine will never look like that. Here is how #3 and #4's room looked yesterday when I went upstairs.

To which #3 advised that his brain told him to do and wouldn't let him clean it up. That boy is genius...now we will just have to wait and see if it's an "evil genius". Either way I got to clean it up and now it looks like this.......


Which is much better than yesterday for now. Man they have a lot of stuff.

I also made my a couple of pyramid bags, but darn that camera the batteries have died, and I am too lazy to go to the store right now and get more. So, that will have to come later.

Birthday....

So, it's been a little minute since my last post, but it's my birthday this week so I have been celebrating.....all week long. I have lots to tell and more to show. I promise. So, be on the lookout for Shrek,mail,The brain,a messanger bag, and a teepee.(You'll see what it all means in the next posting. So, I will leave you with this Happy B-day to me!!!!!!!!!

Friends...and food....



what could be better.

Jealous.......

Well, have I told you that I am addicted to fabric? I haven't? I must say that since I have decided to reacquaint myself with the craft world, it seems as if I have been on a never ending high. There is sooo much out there that I could never have imagined.

So, when I found out that a local fabric store was going to be having a one day sale where everything was going to be 50% off, I could not pass it up. The catch, the store was going to be opening at 6 a.m. and you had to be there to get stamped between 6 and 7 a.m. to get the discounts. So, as if it was "Black Friday" I prepared by never going to sleep, who could miss this opportunity? Who?

My heart sank when I arrived to the store to see.........a line....I knew I would never get what I wanted with this line, but to my surprise...I got everything I wanted, and more....so I will tantalize and charm you with my wondrous finds....happy salivating :)

Now, I started this blog as many others to share about crafting, and oddly there are hardly any examples of crafting listed, so I will leave you a pic of a fabo tote that I created and can be purchased here ...it's made from a vintage tablecloth that had some hand embroidered light and dark pink flowers and some thrifted denim. I have 2, and some other fabo things for you.

Something Finished......

So I have officially finished something.....an apron, I know that I may be the last person on the face of the earth to make an apron, but I have just gotten into my craftiness. I love the pocket on it, it's pleated and trumpet shaped. I did a quilters binding. It's made from a kitchen towel.

I have finished some coasters...I just have to stitch them up!...I think I'll start on some tote bags next. Today I will leave you with #3 and #4 getting around the house on their backs.

Boys will be boys :)

Summer is in full swing.....

So what do you do when its a bazillion degrees outside....you find the nearest watering home and jump in it! So, here they are #3 and #4 before...








and here they are in action....









They're so cute, but onto crafty news. I joined my first swap over here, and I am finally ready to send it off. I don't know if you can tell but the box is taped to within an inch of it's life.



I hope L. from here gets her package in one piece.

This morning....

So, some may wonder why I am up at the crack at dawn posting a message? Well, today is the first day of summer school...yay! not! My loving oldest son will be attending summer school for the first time, and the bus did not show up on time. So looking as gorgeous as one can look when having to get dressed and get someone to school in about 5 minutes I set out on a journey to "Middle School". Of course once there no one knew why the bus was not on time and directed me to call transportation.....we'll see how that turns out later...it's tooo early. Hopefully my son will be able to make it through the day (he has ADHD) and sometimes that's hard. If anyone out there has any tips on that let me know.