IT'S BEEN WAY TOO LONG ....

My poor neglected blog !!!
February has flown by. It turned out to be an insanely busy month for our family - the soccer season began, we had numerous scout activities, 5 school days missed due to snow and ice ... you know how it goes !!!
Just when I thought I could pay this poor blog some attention, I took a silly tumble and ended up laid up in a knee brace for a while. That coupled with the nasty tummy bug that has worked its way systematically through my family this week ... well, It just never got done.
But here I am now .... pity party over .... to show you some creations:-)

The theme for YOE 2 in January was snow scenes. We were required to make an ornament that depicted something snowy:-)
My partner should have recieved her package by now, so I'll show you what I came up with.

This started its life as one of those wooden birdhouses you can buy at most craft stores. I painted it a soft pink and used Snowtex to create a snowfall. I then VERY liberally glittered it with irradecent glitter (I love the shimmer it gives). What is a birdhouse without any residents .... so these 2 little lovelies were added to the ornie.
I have also discovered that spraying a light coat of clear varnish over the glitter, stops the glitter from falling off - I do this on all of my glitter projects now.

Isn't she the cutest .... a little snow fairy. I can't remember which blog the tutorial was on, but if you search "snow fairy tutorial", it's the first one that pops up. It was a great tutorial and she was very easy to make, and I loved the fact that you could do whatever you liked, creatively with her skirt.

There are a few items I need to get done during this next week, to meet some deadlines. So It'll be a busy week and I should have lots to show you :-)

Have a lovely week ... Spring is quickly approaching, and my daffodils should burst into flower any day now:-)

CUTIE PIE ....

Wandering down the clearance aisle of Walmart my eyes are drawn to this package of "ever so cute" cafe curtains .... what is a girl to do, when the design on them just won't allow you to walk past without popping them in your cart ... at $5 for the set, it would make no sense to leave them behind ... I believe this is called justifying my purchase:-)

Well that set of cafe curtains (or at least one of the curtains) became this ....

I took part in Shawnee's Cutie Pie Apron Swap. I wanted to make my partner an apron that was in keeping with the theme, but that she could still enjoy wearing past Valentines Day. I'm very happy with the result. I printed my favorite raspberry pie recipe onto printable fabric, which I then attached to the bib with some decorative stitching and 3 heart buttons. I didn't work from a pattern, but made the design up as I went along.

The fun part is that I still have some more of this delightful fabric left, to use on another project. The fabric itself feels like a cross between a light linen and flour sack cloth ..... just lovely.

I hope my partner likes it, as I had so much fun putting it together for her.

Here in Texas, we're bracing ourselves for another winter storm tonight ..... Ice and snow I believe, will be the order of the day tomorrow.
Stay warm wherever you may be:-)

A PASSION FOR PINCUSHIONS .....

I've made 3 different pincushions this weekend - all as part of various swaps I'm taking part in.

The beauty of pincushions, is that they are quick and easy, but at the same time, they're open to tons of embellishment - my favorite part of any project!!!

This one is made using a china sugar bowl that I found at the thrift store .... it had a price tag of 99c - who doesn't love a deal like that:-)

This one really feels at home, after the week of cold and snowy weather we have had here in Texas!!!

This one is adorable, and HUGE!!! I loved the mouse, and he was a little larger than the items I normally put on my pincushions, but he fit the theme perfectly. No problem .... I just increased the size of the cushion. It turns out that I really like the fact that it is so big ..... so much so, that I think one of them will be on my "make for me" list. I also made the little heart pins that are in the cushion. I found the perfect size heart beads at Joann's a while back. I just put a little glue on the pin head, slipped the bead onto the pin, and there you have it - heart head pins!!!

Off to watch the end of the Superbowl now - until next time !!!

EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE ...

These little cuties make me smile!!!

Elizabeth from Creative Breathing showed some she'd made on her blog, and I had to have some of my own. So out came the paperclay, styrofoam balls, paint, glitter, felt, and pipecleaners, and I got to work creating some. I love how they turned out - he looks so shy and she seems elated by his declaration of love:-)

Last night, here in Texas the ice and snow came down. It's cold ..... very cold. The kids had a snow day today and another one has just been announced for tomorrow!!!!We can turn off the alarm and snuggle down for the day. With the mix of unusually warm weather followed by this bitter cold, our longtime friend "asthma" has come to call. Boy Child ended up at the Dr yesterday, because he was left gasping for breath .... poor little guy. Thanks to steroids and breathing treatments, he's breathing a whole lot easier today.

Keep warm wherever you are .... hot chocolate and knitted blankets ..... ahhh bliss!!!!

FOR THE LOVE OF COOKIES ....

This never was the case with my family, until I found this cookie recipe!!! My non cookie eating hubby now asks for them, and the kids can't shovel them down fast enough. Let's just say that 3 remain this morning, from the 3 dozen that came out of the oven yesterday..... and Yes, I promise I fed them a healthy dinner last night too!!!!
The big "plus" for these cookies ..... they are really quick and easy to make.

So here we go - try them for yourselves and see ....

CRUNCHY TOFFEE COOKIES

- 2/3 cup toffee chips (I use Heath bits)

- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

- 2 cups buttermilk baking mix (I use Pioneer)

- 1 stick butter - softened

- 1 large egg

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- Mix everything together, until well combined. (You may need to get your hands dirty here)

- Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place an inch apart on a lined cookie sheet.

- Bake at 375 Deg F for 10 - 12 mins.

Recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies

Thanks for visiting my little corner of Blogland .... have a wonderful day!!!

WE'LL BLAME IT ON THE WEATHER...

Now that we're a few months into these cold, grey skies ....... It's getting kind of tiresome!!!!

I've had a number of almost completed projects that I just haven't had the inclination to finish ..... that was until this weekend - yay, my craft mojo is back:-)

Here are some goodies I've knitted recently, both are gifts. The brown set is going to my cousin as a valentines gift .... shhh, I think I'm safe - I don't think she even knows I have this little blog. She's leaving the USA permanently in April, to persue her first real job. Where she is going, is cold ALL year round, so these should come in handy. I'm going to miss her - she's the only family we have here, and one of my best friends.

The silvery/grey neckwarmer is also a gift - it's recipient shall remain anonymous. The yarn has a shiny thread that runs through it ... so pretty. I found the yarn at Joann's at Christmas. It was one of their Holiday yarns. Now that I see how pretty it is knitted up, I wish I'd got another couple of balls ... oh well, there's always next Christmas:-)

On a proud mom note - Girl Child modelled these for me. I look at these pictures (which I love), and realise just how proud she makes me .... she's growing into a gorgeous, kind hearted young lady:-) I love you Brit!!!

Thanks for popping in, I promise the next break wont be so long ..... after all the mojo is back:-)

SNOWSCAPES...

HAPPY 2011!!!

I was very spoilt over Christmas, and was given one of these beauties as a gift!!!! I was beyond excited!!!

I recieved it before Christmas, but with the hussle and bustle that is Christmas, I decided I would take it out to play once things had returned to normal .... that happened to be this week:-)

I have decided that the possibilities are absolutely endless. I only have a couple of cartridges at the moment, but I'm amazed at just how much you can create with just a little. I have made some snowscape notecard sets - I thought they'd make nice last minute gifts once they were popped in a cellophane bag and tied with some gorgeous ribbon, and a matching tag.

SNOW ABODES

I put a thin layer of transparent glitter glue over the snowy areas on this set. I cut the snowflakes with a small hand held paper punch I have. To add some sparkle, I glued a tiny rhinestone to the center of each snowflake.

SNOW SCENES

This set just says "FUN" to me:-) All those happy little creatures frolicking in the snow .... it makes me smile!!!

I think I may settle down now with a nice mug of coffee, and make a set of garden gnome notelets .... watch this space!!!

PS - The dishwasher and washing machine are going - hmmm, the grind of daily chores:-)