Merry Christmas!

Celine Dion is not one of my favorites, but boy she can sing the heck out of my favorite Christmas song.  Brings tears to my eyes every time!

Enjoy!  Oh, and Merry Christmas :)

By George, She's Doing it!

Knitting.  My nemesis.  I have been trying to knit since I was 21.  Believe me...that was a while ago!  My mother tried teaching me, I tried using books from the library, I even tried tutorials online.  However, it all turned out the same:  it didn't resemble knitting in the least!

My last attempt?  Christmas break last year.  I gave up to the point where I started Tunisian Crocheting just so that I could make something with yarn that at least LOOKED like knitting!

Last week, my favorite craft store had a super-wicked sale, so I went with the intent to grab some stuff for my business.  As I passed the yarn section, the yearning to learn to knit bit me again.  I didn't need to grab any yarn, but I did pass a book that I was hoping was THE BOOK to finally teach me.  I got the book at 50% off (it is just one of those skinny paperback Leisure Arts books) and sat down that night watching "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", needles, yarn and book in hand.  Would you believe it, by the end of the show I was knitting!  Me!

Get the book here

I was so excited!  Now, I don't know if it really was the book or if it was years and years of trying to learn and it just so happened to click that night, but I have been knitting every night since then.  After making tons of squares to practice the stitches, I have embarked on a project:

Find the pattern here

I love wrist warmers and my crocheted pair is just plain yucky from use, so I shall KNIT another pair!  The first image is the beginnings of this wrist warmer.  It may take me a while, but I am just too excited!

In other news, this blog is going to be going through some changes in 2011.  I have set a goal to include more posts, giveaways, tutorials and just plain fun stuff so that you will definitely not want to miss it!  I scanned through the current content and have decided that she is just swinging in limbo and she needs to be utilized more.  So look for that in the coming weeks.  Of course, it is going to be a work in progress over the next year, but I am hoping that this blog will be much more purposeful than the waste of web space it is now!

Okay, Folks, my wishes to you for a super Christmas and I will see you in the New Year!

Happy July 4th!

Mom left for home yesterday.  I had such a good time with her and will miss her dearly.  Now we are back to the everyday phone calls for another year :(

I have so much catching up to do as I didn't want to waste a moment on anything other than her, therefore, I will be back next week to resume my normal schedule as well as fill you all in with the fun we had, Paige and her cover, etc.

I am still waiting for Laurel to contact me with the Bead Soup Blog Party prize.  If I do not hear from her in another day or two, I will be drawing another winner.  Stay tuned...you may still have a chance!

Have a safe weekend and

God Bless America!

My Creative Space and Sneak Peak for Next Week

My Creative Space is filled with ribbon flowers and more of my cool handmade stamens.  I hand dyed all the ribbons used which was a super-messy process, but it was fun because you can get so creative in the dying process with different textures and combinations.  Above is a wild rose and fuchsia.  Don't let the zoom fool you - they were made with 1/2" ribbon....super tiny!

I have a lot planned for this coming week.  On Monday, I will be revealing my Bead Soup Blog Party piece.  Remember the components I posted that I received from my partner Vintage Blue Studio?  Well, here is a sneak peak at what I designed:

To see all the participants, visit Lori's blog, and make sure you follow her so that you don't miss the next bead soup party!

Since I will be unveiling my piece on Monday, I am planning a giveaway of a piece I made with the leftover components of my bead soup.  I will probably be posting this early Monday morning and the giveaway will more than likely last the week to celebrate the blog party!

Later this week, Paige will finally be getting her cover fitted...lots of pics will be posted of that tedious event.  And don't forget the last minute get together I planned for Mom.  I promise tons of pictures!  It is actually working out quite nicely...only about 15 will be able to make it and everyone offered to bring something to the table.  Whew...makes my job so much easier.  Mom was so happy when I told her this morning.

Have a great weekend, and Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!  My hubby will be getting a home made Black Forest Cake for Father's Day this year!  Mmmmmmm!

Happy Memorial Day!

Do not forget to spend a few minutes remembering the men and women who have fought for this country in ALL the wars and conflicts!

As you know, I'm a BIG WWII fanatic and will probably be spending my day watching WWII movies. If you don't own any, here is video of pictures from WWII. Funny the video plays to the soundtrack of "Requiem for a Dream"



Also, tutorial preference voting ends tonight...be sure to have your say what you would like to see!

Enjoy your day...thank a Veteran for your freedom!

Happy Mother's Day!

Tribal Blogs or EntreCard? That Is The Question...

So, I'm sure you have all heard about Tribal Blogs. Hmmm....what a neat concept. People visiting your blog who are actually reading it! Don't get me wrong...I have many faithful readers through EC and appreciate them dearly. I'm talking about those blogs in the EC community that open your page for no longer than to click on your widget, then move on. Now, I understand that not everyone is interested in the things I talk about and I don't expect them to be. But to hit my page just to rape me for an EC credit?

Not only that, but there is a small population of blogs on EC that I actually have in my Favorites that I visit and comment on faithfully (you know who you are if you get lots of drops and even comments from me). The rest of the blogs are just lacking....seriously lacking! And I'm talking that there are a lot of blogs there! And the worst part, is that some of the most popular blogs are seriously crappy! No offense, but they are. Again, this opinion does not pertain to you if I comment on you at least once a month! Tribal blogs gives us an opportunity to visit a group of serious blogs. What's better is that they are all closely monitored to be able to stay in the community. There's no dropping, no bull crap.

I actually just signed up and want to test the waters (supposing I'm approved). If I like it, I will probably leave EC and remain on Tribal! What a great opportunity! You really should jet over there and check it out...Click the picture at the top!

With all that being said, have a fabulous Easter Weekend!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

Here's to a wonderful 2010! Thank you to all the readers of this blog for all the support in the last year, even when I was at times AWOL trapped in this thing called life!

Cheers to you!

Happy Veterans' Day!

I don't know of anyone who does not know a veteran. With 5 major conflicts to choose from, I'm sure at least one person in your family is a veteran. Well, today is their day. Today is the day you pick up the phone and thank them for the ability to run to the store when you want....or start putting your garbage out at the curbside a little early if you choose....or carry a Bible to church with you if it compels you. Thanking them for watching what you want on TV, wearing whatever clothes you feel like wearing today and most importantly, holding your beliefs true with the ability to make them public.

There are several veterans in my family. Unlce Jerry was a veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. I say was because he passed away recently, but he is still on my mind today. He was a medic in both wars and was awarded the Silver Star (among other awards and medals) for removing wounded by putting them on a heli from an area that was being heavily attacked despite his chance of being killed. Then there's Uncle Bob, who's story is not as heroic. Uncle Bob was a pot-smoking protester drafted to the front lines in Vietnam against his will. He saw some pretty horrific stuff (as I am sure you can imagine). He left Vietnam after an attempt on his life went awry, leaving his face permanently disfigured and facing debilitating mental anguish and PTSD. He still suffers shell-shock evident when he sleeps even today. He still can't talk about the war. Then there is my brother-in-law, John. John was a marine in Vietnam and today is battling Lymphoma due to Agent Orange. I could go on naming friends of the family, but I'll leave you to remember your own veterans, just make sure you make an attempt to contact at least one veteran to tell them "Thank You" for risking their life to ensure your freedom.

Happy Halloween!...and Sale Continues....

Today's Sale -----> 10% off all purchases! Use code Birth09Sat in comments to seller in my Etsy shop!
A Halloween wish to all you Halloween'ers! Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween. Now that the kids are older, they don't trick or treat anymore (darn...can't dig in the candy bag anymore!). Therefore, we usually celebrate Halloween with a scary movie at the theater. Tonight will be Saw 6, but we won't be dressing up this year at the theater as we usually do. This year, Jacy is Pyramid Head (took forever to make the head) and he doesn't want to wrangle with it at the theater, not that I blame him. I would have been easy...I wanted to be Flo from Progressive! I love Flo!

Pyramid Head -
Silent Hill

Tayelor is dressing up tonight as she is going to a Halloween party with her friends at the local coffee shop. She's being a Gothic Princess. I will have to post pictures early next week. Speaking of which, I am hoping to do my blog surfing on Monday and seeing lots of Halloween costume pictures!

Have a great evening!

Celebrate Family Day Today!

What does this mean for you? If you still have children at home, eat dinner together at the dinner table. Unfortunately, with busy schedules of working moms and active kids, the family dinner is becoming a thing of the past. Family Day is designed to show the importance of frequent family dinners. Read more about Family Day at the Family Day Website. You can get your Family Dinner Kit here also, which consists of conversation starters, recipes, puzzles you can do together.

Every year, we celebrate Family Day. Kinda hard not to when the kid's school stresses the importance of it to the point where the kids look forward to it when they get home! We eat about 90% of our dinners together at the table as a family, but we still observe the day. Usually, we take it one step further and play a board game after dinner.

No matter how you do it, make a point to observe Family Day this year. It will be something your kids look forward to every year.

Laying low.....

I am probably going to lay low this weekend. I had mini-dental implants and a tooth pulled this morning in my molars and I'm pretty sore. Each molar gets two screws put in my jaw bone. I had a total of 7 screws put in today, one drilled and screwed in immediately after getting a tooth pulled, so needless to say, I'm not quite myself. I will probably take the weekend off, however, I still plan on dropping cards. Plan...is the key word. I declined codeine as it only upsets my stomach, so I am working on Motrin...which is better than nothing. I highly recommend the procedure, just not so many done at once :] I assure you, they look better than the picture above...I just couldn't pass up a shark with human teeth!

In the event that I do not get a chance to get back online, I wish to broadcast a "Happy Mother's Day" to all my mommy-blogger-friends, be they human or animal babies. Be good to yourself, let your husband do all the cooking, and spend the day cuddling with your kids!

Happy Resurrection Day!

And to think he went through what he did on Good Friday....even while you did not even know him....

Wow....that's intense!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, Happy Bloggers!

(sorry it too so long today to get this post up...had some errands to run this morning! :]

Happy 2009!!!

Now that the holidays are finally over and I a trying to clear a path through my studio from the Christmas rush, I am settling down and trying to get back to work.

I have many new products coming this year and am very excited about showing them off!

I am also going to get back to featuring shops....guess what? Starting today!

Oh, life is sweet!