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.

SNAILS GALORE...

Our YOE theme for July was snails:-)

I thought I'd show you what I made for my partner.

It took me a while to come up with this idea using felt and ribbon - I was ultimately very happy with just how cute he looked once he was finished.

Next, was this little amigarumi snail, that I decided to turn into a pin cushion for her. I glued a little circular magnet to the underside of his tail. This ended up serving 2 purposes - it weighted him down (he no longer took a nose dive every time I put him down), and it stuck pretty nicely onto a sewing machine .... no running away for this little snail!!!

Then one of my most favorite things I've made in a while (I intend making one for our family at some point) - this little decoupage bird house. I saw the idea on a website - I wrote the web address down before we left to go overseas ...... do you think I can find it now!!!!I bought one of those wooden bird houses you can get at Hobby Lobby. I then pulled out my paint, some scrapbook papers and the Mod Podge, and got to work. I put a final coat of waterproof sealant over it, so hopefully the birds in her garden will use it for many years to come:-)

Our August theme is the octopus, so I'm busily working on getting this little creature put together:-) I;m also busy putting together Alice in Wonderland and Back To The Future themed apron and swap packages - busy, busy, busy:-)

Until next time - keep crafting!!!!

WE'RE BACK......

Home again...... Home again...... after a long flight and 3 hours getting through the Immigration process - enough said!!!!!

Now it's time to switch to "Back To School" mode:-)
I'm off to scavenge some school supplies today - yes, I think scavenge is the perfect word, after all who in their right mind leaves buying these things until the day before school starts? You just know that it's going to require Walmart, Target and any other shop carrying such items to pull this one off:-)

We had a lovely time in the UK - wow, how I miss all the family already. My biggest wish would be for us all to live close enough together again (the same continent would do!!!!), so that Girl and Boy child could grow up knowing what it's like to have grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins within easy reach.

I can't wait to get back to my craft room - I have a lot of catching up to do, and a head full of ideas:-) So come back soon and we'll enjoy visiting again, perhaps with a cup of tea ..... and by then I should have some crafty goodness posted for you to see:-)

If your kiddos start school soon ..... I hope they have a fantastic year. We will be taking on the challenge of Middle School, as Girl Child enters that new phase of her life tomorrow:-)

I'M AN OCEAN AWAY AT THE MOMENT...

Hello bloggy friends!!!
Yay, technology at last - our family is currently vacationing in the UK. We'll be gone until mid August - that's the reason I've been so quiet.
Hope you're all having a wonderful summer and I'll check back with you all soon.

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO...

It's been a very creatively productive weekend so far ..... and there's still another day to go:-)

I've spent my spare time putting the finishing touches to my swap package for Shawnee's Cupcake, Cherries and M.E (Mary Engelbreit) Swap. It's been a lot of fun - especially deciding on the perfect tuck in's to go with the apron. The package will be in the mail first thing on Tuesday morning:-)

Here is the apron - it's reversible and just fun. Is it a cupcake day (Isn't every day a cupcake day?) or is it a cherry day ..... hmmm, my partner can decide:-)

Here is a sneak peak at some of the tuck ins - not all of them!!!

An amigarumi cupcake pincushion that I crocheted. I'm still really enjoying the crocheting thing.

And some more of the ruffled notecards that I mentioned in my previous post. This time I found some M.E. clipart images that I printed onto some printable fabric. I inked the images edges and then stitched them onto the cards - I like the way the turned out. All bright and cheery!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their 4th July weekend:-)