BABY, OH BABY!

Alright, I might be a little prejudiced but isn't this the cutest face?

Dawson's mommy (Randy) has introduced cereal to her. 

 Judging by her reaction I think she is thinking:

"So this is what I have been missing?  Forget the formula, bring on the good stuff!"

GIVING THE MACHINE A TEST DRIVE

I bought a new sewing machine back in November and haven't even plugged it in until today.

I decided to make something simple so I started with customizing some dish towels I bought.  I added some fabric bands and some trim to dress them up. 

The first one was all black.  I added some cute fabric and some rickrack.

Very simple indeed.

The second one was red and white striped.  I added some fabric and some ribbon to pep up the personality meter.

And lastly a checkered towel got a pretty band of berries and flowers along with a ruffle

Wow, that felt good to get back to sewing again.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

This is what it looks like outside my window today. 

See that?  Yes, that would be SUNSHINE folks.  We have had only six days of sun since November 1st.

That haze you see is the fog finally lifting. 

This is taken out my front door.  See that at the bottom of the picture?  That would be shade because the sun is actually shining and casting shadows.

It doesn't take much for me to be amused. 

Sunshine and Shade will do it.

For those of you experiencing lots of winter weather and snow, I feel for you. 

{Mingled with a little jealousy}



Here is a picture taken about 2 weeks ago. This is about the extent of snow we have seen this year.

It started snowing about 5:00 p.m. and was gone by morning.  Boo Hoo!

Not enough
 to even cover the grass...grrrrr

THIS MAKES MY HEART SMILE

A friend sent me an email with several greeting cards depicting friendship, love and aging.

Upon seeing this one I just had to stop and let my heart smile.

Aren't they just the sweetest?

CUTE CANVAS PROJECTS

Last year we had a craft group that met once a month and made crafts, visited, laughed, and shared munchies.

One of the crafts we did were these family canvases.

Here is Tawnya's finished project.  She has three ADORABLE boys that she took photo's of and mounted them on to thin black craft foam and glued onto the canvas.  I helped her with the vinyl lettering.

Didn't it turn out awesome

This is the finished canvas that Christine made of her four HANDSOME boys.

I love the words she chose describe her little men.

One other lady made one with photo's of her boys and a family photo but I didn't get a picture of it and she has since moved.

So Kadi, if you stop by my blog anytime soon I would love to feature your finished canvas too.

If you would be interested in making one of these here is what you need:

1-12x24 artist canvas

 { found at any craft store}

Paint of your choice for canvas

Photo's 

{3x3 or4x4 work well} 

Thin black craft foam

Glue

{like Tacky Glue or Gorilla Glue}

Vinyl lettering

{I will do custom orders, just email me at connie_hall57@yahoo.com}

 

EVIDENTLY I LIVE UNDER A ROCK

Have you ever  been to "It's Always A Party at the Parker's"?

Wowza is all I can say.  I can't recall ever seeing this blog before hence the whole living under a rock. I am guilty of spending hours looking at blogs so I am shocked I haven't come across it before.

 Go check it out.

HERE

JUMPIN' ON THE WAGON

The Valentine's wagon that is...

I was inspired by this subway art at eighteen25.

I have so admired all of the cute Valentine's decorations being shared around blogland.  With so MANY, MANY talented and creative people out there that I just couldn't help but get involved myself.
(The canvas I used for this project is an 18"x18" that I actually used for a plaque for the bazaar back in November.  I had some subway art on it but it didn't sell.  Guess what, you can just peel off the vinyl, repaint the canvas and apply another design and you have a brand new sign or plaque.  This project didn't cost me anything, I just used everything I already had on hand.)







Happy Valentine's Day!

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

With all of the Valentine stuff in the stores and all over the blogs it has kind of put me in the mood to listen to love songs.

Below are some of my all time favorite love songs.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What love song do you and your sweetheart share?



WANT TO MAKE #4

I found another project I 'WANT TO MAKE'.

Patti at Pandora's Box made these cute black and white designs on this glassware while watching television...I am sooooo going to make me some too. 

Thanks for the inspiration Patti.

CONGRATS TO THE WINNER!

First of all,

Thank you to all of you who took the time to comment and to become followers.

I REACHED MY GOAL

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

THE WINNER IS:

BEVERLY AT THE BEVERLY BUZZ
(I will get that sent off to you as soon as I get Jane's autograph)

Oh ya Beverly, I need you to email me your address, I can't seem to find where I wrote it down.
connie_hall57@yahoo.com
 

Let me introduce you to my newest followers:

Karen

Jenn

Valerie

Pam

Mimi

Jessica

Gramee

There were three more that became followers but I am unable to identify.

DO YOU WANNA HELP ME REACH MY GOAL?

Here's the scoop:

First of all, I never thought I would get 10 followers on my blog let alone 190, I am shocked.

My goal is to reach 200 followers.  In camparison to some blogs that have thousands of followers I am a guppie in the ocean, but I would be thrilled to just make it to my goal.

Here is how you can help.

  If you are already a follower and you happen to mention my little dilema on your blog or would like to make my day and become a follower, if you aren't already,  I would be not only honored but I would enter your name into the drawing for one of the funniest books out there about motherhood called Mother's Daze, by Jane Isfeld Still.  It will be personally autographed by Jane herself.

 My friend Jane Still is one of the most quirky and hilarious people I have ever met.  Not to mention, she can run circles around people like nobody else.  She is new to the 'published works' world and is about to release her second book in the series soon.  I would like to offer a copy of her first book free to one of my friends in the blog world (because you know we seem to live in our own little world stalking enjoying wonderful people and their blogs so we kinda live in our own little happy place).

So...

#1. Mention this giveaway on your blog

#2 Become a follower if you aren't already

#3 Leave a comment letting me know you have done #1 and/or #2.

#4 I will draw the winning name when my goal is reached.
#5 Please leave a way for me to contact you.

What Were They Thinking?

So, I titled this post, "What Were They Thinking?" because, well, I would like to know;

WHAT. WERE. THEY. THINKING?What part of pumping up their lips do they think makes them attractive?

I just don't get it.

Pamela Anderson:

Did you ever hear of aging gracefully?

Evidently not!

Dolly Parton:

It is not necessary to pump up your lips to match your...

ummmm...you know what's.  You are truly a beautiful woman with a wonderful heart.  Please quit  trying to be "Barbie".

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa!
You look like you had a bee sting reaction on your upper lip.  Honey (no pun intended, or maybe intended) please leave the bee keeping to the professionals.

Goldie Hawn

Those look like they were imported from your behind. 

 SO NOT CUTE!

Wha?????

Megan Fox, what part of adorable is this? You look like rubber tires with lipstick.

And Marie, sweetie I love you to pieces...but I must be brutally honest. Those ain't the lips you were born with. I know you have a Las Vegas act and all, but  REALLY? Is that pump job necessary?

Dear Ms. Griffith,
 you must ask for a refund for that procedure.
It's all wrong for you.
Embrace you own beauty and let nature have a chance.

What about you, do you think the whole

'PUMP UP THE LIPS'

trend is a little out of hand?

CONFIDENCE IN A BOTTLE

No!  Not that kind of bottle...

...this kind of bottle.

Ok, so I find confidence in a hair color bottle, my secret is out.

I have been coloring my hair for at least 20 years, well except for about a year and a half about six or seven years ago when I decided since I had become a grandmother it was fine to let my hair confirm that I was indeed a grandma.

It was a painstaking task growing out my hair to reveal, what was to my dismay, MOUSEY GREY NOT SO ATTRACTIVE UGLY HAIR!  Oh no, not the beautiful white of my friend
Carolyn, or the soft billows of beautiful snow colored tresses. 
 I caved and went back to coloring after seeing a photo at Christmas and wondered 'who in the heck is that'?

Fast forward to yesterday when I went to book club looking like Pepe' Le Pew, you know that skunk look.  I know these fine ladies I attend book club with would NEVER say anything but I did notice people had a hard time looking me in the face, their eyes kept drifting upward.

So out came my good friend Miss Clairol #121A this morning for a visit.  Unfortuantely she only stays about 5 weeks at a time because my hair grows so stinking fast.

I am here to announce that
MY CONFIDENCE HAS RETURNED!

So my question today is:
What brings you confidence? 
Getting a facial?
Botox?
A good work out?
A wolf whistle?
Getting a Pedi or Mani?
Liposuction?

HISTORY OF APRONS

I GOT THIS EMAIL RECENTLY AND THOUGHT I WOULD PASS IT ALONG.

I don't know where it originated from or who wrote but I love the message.

Notice that a "Medium" is a size 14 - 16

Remember making an apron in Home Ec? Read below:




The History of 'APRONS'














I don't think our kids
know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing
hot pans from the oven.




It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.








From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.








When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids..








And when the weather was cold Grandma wrapped it around her arms.








Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow,
bent over the hot wood stove.








Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.








From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.








In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.








When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.








When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.




It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.




REMEMBER:










Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill
to thaw.


They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.




I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...














When the power of love overcomes the love of power, there will be peace!!!!!!

Vinyl Lettering For Sale...Blowout Prices

Over at my Shady Creek Vinyl Lettering blog I have listed some vinyl sayings at blowout prices.

CHECK IT OUT HERE


Here is one sample.

I WANT TO MAKE #3

I saw this idea a month ago and just found it again.

I definitly WANT TO MAKE this.

Tutorial is found at Shanty2Chic.

WANT TO MAKE #2

I WANT TO MAKE this great photo holder.

  Head on over to Lori's blog, Life Among The Three Stooges, for a great tutorial on how she made this.

Thanks Lori for sharing your talents.

CHANGIN' UP A BIT

AFTER SPENDING THE BETTER PART OF A DAY THIS WEEK GOING THROUGH ALL OF MY FAVORITE BLOGS I HAVE IN MY READER AND ON MY BLOG, TITLED 'BLOGS THAT INSPIRE CREATIVITY', I KNEW I NEEDED TO DO SOME ORGANIZING.

Along with organizing I knew I would need to eliminate some blogs that I follow because I need to spend not quite so much time cruising blogs.  I hate to quit following because I know that tends to hurt people's feelings.  Please do not take it personal.  I tried to only eliminate those that haven't blogged for a while, like more than three months, or those that aren't meeting my needs right now.

So now I want to let you know that I will be posting directly on my blog ideas and inspiration of things I want to make that I have come across in blog land. I will call it my WANT TO MAKE post. That way I only have to skim through my blog to locate the ideas rather than in my favorites file or on my desktop or try and remember where I saw a particular idea.   I hope that by posting these ideas it might inspire others to check out the blogs I have linked to.

For my first WANT TO MAKE post I will be linking to Amy's blog, Keep'n The Sunny Side.

She shared a recipe for homemade TWIX bars that look divine.

I WILL be making these today.

Yummeeeee!

SO HAPPY TOGETHER

I realize that Valentine's day is a little less than five weeks away but I decided to make a project that you might be interested in making yourself. 

I even did a tutorial on this very simple plaque.

I bought this 6.75"x6.75" wood plaque (minus the black paint) at my local dollar store while back.  It had small white rope through the holes that I didn't need so I just cut it off.

I then painted only the edges black so the sides would have a nice finished look.

I then went through my scrapbook paper stash and found some suitable paper.  I chose a light pink design with a black and white polka dot accent paper.

I then glued the papers to the plaque. (I used a simple clear glue and used a sponge brush to smooth it over the board before laying the paper down).   Be sure to smooth the paper after applying to make sure it doesn't wrinkle or pucker.  I have this handy dandy plastic tool that works great.  You could use the side of a credit card to achieve the same results.

I didn't get a picture of it but I did ink the edges of the pink paper with a black ink stamp pad.  I just like the way it makes the project look.

Next I cut out the words and heart with my Silhouette cutting machine.  Here I am pulling the excess vinyl away to reveal the wording.

This shows me applying the heart over the pink paper.

I then apply the lettering over the heart.

I then strung black and red ribbon through the holes in the board, tied knots to keep them from pulling through and then add a few pieces of bling, bling on the two small hearts and across the bottom piece of paper.  I then tied a red ribbon to cover the seams where the two papers meet.

So there you have a simple Valentine decoration to hang for your loved ones to enjoy and remind them  to 'be happy together'.

If you would like to make one similar to this but don't have access to a vinyl cutter then I would be happy to make some up for you for a minimal cost of $2.50.  Just email me at connie_hall57@yahoo.com.  with your address and I will get that out to you.