FALL .... WHERE ARE YOU?

I think she got lost along the way!!!
It is still blisteringly hot here ..... I honestly think it's time summer moved south and let Fall take up her rightful place:-)
To try and hurry her along, I've made a start on some Fall crafts. I mentioned in my last post that I was working on a Fall version of the spool dolls/mice ..... well here they are in all their pumpkiny goodness. (Oops, I see that I need to rewrap one of the trims!!!)

My favorite part of them - the little, green tendril (I think that's what it's called). That really turned them into pumpkins for me.

Next, I saw some cute Fall tassels on my last browse aroung Michaels. To me though, there were 2 issues with them - firstly, they were very bulky and not too well made and secondly, the price tag was a little steep.... $7-99 each. I was sure I could make something similar and more to my liking, and here's the result...

I picked up the scarecrow figurines at Walgreens - 2 for $1-00. The rest is stuff I had in my stash leftover from previous projects - wooden candle holders, brown paint, a teeny, tiny bit of trim and lots of different colored and textured ribbon. I like them a lot, and think that they'll look really cute hanging off of some door knobs or dresser drawer knobs during this Fall season.

Thanks for stopping by - I really appreciate it:-)
Until next time - enjoy the lovely Fall weather. That is if she has arrived in your neck of the woods!!!

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO...

And it's not as if I haven't been busy!!!

Now that the kids are back at school and soccer season is in full swing, time is just running away with us. Add, having to buy a new computer, after the other one crashed, to that, and It explains my abscence.

I thought I'd share these little cuties with you....

Remember these little spool dolls I made back in April....

Well, here's my latest variation on them ....spool mice!!! I love how they turned out:-)

They have little leather ears and tails, the cutest bead noses, and whiskers too!!! I made them using the egg shaped wooden blanks you can buy at any of the craft stores. I made them up as I went along, and am so very happy with how they turned out.I'm busy working on a Fall themed variation of them, that I'll share with you once they're done.

My latest "car pool line" addiction is knitting cotton dishcloths!!! What a fun way to pass the 30 minutes you spend in that line each day - multiply that by 2 for me now that I have one child in Elementary and one at Middle School. They're so quick and easy to make, and the cotton yarn is a breeze to knit with. As soon as I have some pictures to post, I'll show you them.

Hope your Halloween and Fall crafting is keeping you busy ...... I haven't started mine yet, although I have so many ideas floating around in my head:-)

Until next time ..... Happy Crafting!!!

I'M LATE... I'M LATE.....

but it will be in the mail tomorrow!!!

I took part in The Hot Mama Apron Swap - the theme was Alice in Wonderland. It was a whole lot of fun.

This is the apron I made..... modeled so professionally by Girl Child!!!

Blue was the obvious choice as Alice is always drawn wearing a blue dress with a white apron over it.My favorite part of the apron ...... the Mad Hatter image I enhanced with embroidery. It was so good to haul out all my silk ribbon and embroidery floss - it's been way to long.Take a look, and see what you think!!!

We were also to include 3 Tuck In's (theme related goodies). I won't show you all of them, just this one because the story behind it is so funny.

My intention was for this crocheted teapot to be a pin cushion ....well, it is huge (by pin cushion standards, that is). It's about 6 inches tall. I do like how it turned out though, so I have included it in the package. Personally I would still use it as a pin cushion, as I have tons of pins - this may not be everyones cup of tea (haaa...haaa) though. The teabag tags have quotes from Alice in Wonderland printed on them, and I loved the image of The Queen Of Hearts. Hopefully my partner will like it too.

That is all my swaps caught up now. Our YOE theme for September is mice, but that is only due in a few weeks, although I can't wait to get started as I have a number of cute options:-)

I guess it is also time to start putting some serious thought into Christmas gifts ..... no time like the present to start on those ..... Christmas will be here before we know it!!!

Oh but wait ..... I had some cute ideas for Halloween. I wantto give something other than candy to our Trick and Treaters this year. We have so much candy wastage in our house around Halloween - the kids never eat it all.

Happy crafting everyone ......... it's getting to "busy time" for all of us crafters:-)

I'VE BEEN A BUSY BEE....

Well things are back to normal in our home. The kids are back at school - and really enjoying it too!!!
I've caught up on all of my swaps ...... so yes, we're back on track!!!




Let me first share with you the octopus I made for August's YOE swap...... I was quite spoilt for choice - too spoilt in fact - it made choosing which one to make a long, drawn out affair. I eventually settled on this crocheted one, and I am happy with the way he turned out. I especially love the way his legs curl....... and who could resist those sparkly, blue eyes:-)

I also tried my hand at making some crochet stitch markers (I forgot to take an individual picture of them). They were so simple to make, yet they were really cute. It's amazing what you can do with some lobster clasps and a few jewelry charms.

Next thing I have to show you, is the apron I made for the Flirty Apron Swap - the theme was Back To The Future!!!!My partner requested a 50's apron. I wanted to do something in keeping with the 50's but at the same time a little different. I found 4 linen dish towels on clearance at World Market. Lucky for me 2 of them had a vintage wine label printed on them .... and the vintage.... 1951!!! So the pile of 4 dish towels (the weight of the fabric is fantastic), became this lovely apron!!! I hope my partner likes it, together with the other goodies I sent (1 from the 1950's, 1 from the 1980's and 1 from the 21st century).

The picture doesn't really do it justice ...... I loved it!!!

So that's what I've been up to over the past few weeks.