Christmas is coming! (for 123 members)

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! thanks to those who entered

And though I have no job and can’t give you a “real” “store-bought” gift, as your stitching friend,  I can enhance your collection.

I’ve been the recipient of MANY kindnesses on 123 and would like to repay in some  small way …

Here’s my plan. I have lots of booklets I am willing to send to new homes.
All I ask is that you really WILL stitch them. I don’t want to send things to people who just want something for free. To make it more fun, I have LOTS of categories from which to choose,  so chances are, there will be SOMEthing you may like to stitch!

This may get difficult, depending on how many friends stop by to see what’s here, so I’ll try it this way – I will number the packs I’ll be sending out - and then YOU comment, and say which number you would prefer. (and please do leave your member name as well, so I know who you are)

some of these will contain multiple charts, some just one. Some are kits, some are partial kits, some chartpacks, some leaflets, but you won’t know until you get it)

Then, in about a week, I’ll close the giveaway and randomly select someone to receive each packet – how does that sound? (I’ll post the winners here so you have a reason to come back)
So let the giveaway begin!
1. do you like Notre Dame? Are you an alumni? then this one is for you
2. Baby coming? this could be yours
3. who doesn’t like Christmas?
4. is golf your game?
5. are you a grit? (southern girl?)
6. do you like holidays? all holidays?
7. is the kitchen the heart of your home?
8. any Stoney Creek fans out there?
9. how about any devout religious people?
10. ahhh, babies and children, who doesn’t love them?
11. Paula Vaughan? who’s she?
12.  Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus
13. what? More holidays?
14.  don’t you love the smell of flowers?
15. is anyone an April baby?
16. here comes the bride, all dressed in white
17. Now I know my abc’s, next time won’t you sing with me?
18. is there a doctor in the house? how about a nurse?
19. Precious Mutants? Not to PM lovers!
20. all the little birdies sang tweet tweet tweet

tutorial for ornaments

So I got to thinking it’d be fun to make initial ornaments to tie on Christmas gifts this year. I found a font I liked (from “Alphabet Album” – LA #162) and went to work.

Here are a few I’ve done so far:

and here’s my tutorial:

I had some cardboard numbers for altered art, so that’s what I used for mine – any stiff circular shape will do for this project.

First, stitch the letter you want in the threads you like.
Then, making sure the disc is large enough to cover the entire design, trace the outline on the wrong side of the fabric (for placement)

then,  cut around the circle you’ve traced (leave enough fabric to cover the disc) Using a running thread, go around the fabric. Use a bit of polyfil, then cover with the disc, then, making sure the design is centered, pull tightly on thread to tighten up. (did I put the song by Archie Bell and the Drells in your head? If you’re too young to know who they are, google the song “Tighten Up”) Adjust centering, if necessary, and lace up the back til it’s nice and secure.

Your initial should be centered and slightly puffy from the polyfil:

then get your cording (that you’ll use as a hanger), a piece of felt and good glue. Put a generous amount of glue on the back of the ornament, place the cording where you want it, then center the design on the felt.

Using pinking shears, cut around the cross stitch to create a nice backing:

and, voila! A cute little ornament tag!

it happens to the best of us

and it happened to me! I turned 50 today.
(Please, hold the half a century jokes, I’ve heard them all from my kids)
I had a wonderful day too – flowers from my son and unexpected flowers from my online friend Pam, a Dunkin Donuts gift card from my daughter (who shares my coffee addiction) We had a nice dinner followed by cake, and tomorrow, my best friend (and her family)  is taking me (and my kids) out to dinner and I’ll get my big gift from the kids then. (I think it’s jewelry based on hints) So all in all, not a bad way to turn half a century lol.

from EJ

pam's flowers

After dinner, my kids went to Halloween Adventure to look for costumes for the parties they’re going to on Saturday. Corinne came home with this getup, then I realized I had some ugly teeth from a few years ago, so gave her them to use. Scarily realistic Amy Winehouse, don’t you think?

I also went to my local Goodwill store yesterday. I picked up three books, a moon and stars wall mirror (part of a Christmas gift), a planter and this old revolving spice rack. (Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures of it before, but it was sufficiently dirty and well used)  Somewhere online, I saw a picture of a converted spice rack and wanted to do the same. I spray painted the rack itself white (I love my white spray paint!), washed out the bottles and lids, glued some pretty paper to the lids instead of the ugly spice labels and filled them with crafting bits and pieces — doesn’t it look great? I really wish I remembered the site from which I got the idea – her craft room was just wonderful.

make your own font from your handwriting!

Here’s a fun site – you print out a grid to print YOUR handwriting to, then scan and upload and voila! A font in YOUR own hand!

Go check it out!
www.fontcapture.com

aaahhhhh October

The best month of the year! Not only because it is my birthday month, but because the air is crisp and brisk, the sky is blue, there is NO humidity.

Oh, and halloween is this month – my favorite holiday!

I’m still out of work (coming up on a year on the 31st, ack!) but I’m surviving. Not living, but surviving lol.

I have used the time off to enjoy reading, cross stitching, watching movies and tv, etc ….. maybe boring to someone who always has to be on the go, but for me, it’s heavenly.  I’m a huge homebody, and this is like extended maternity leave, only my kids are old enough to talk to and enjoy and do things with!

I’ve started organizing my xs magazines …. I am happy with the outcome. I bought a bunch of magazine files at Ikea (who doesn’t love Ikea?) and here is the end result:

Sorry for the sideways pic! But anyhow, it’s looking good and I can find what I want now. We’ll talk about my cabinet full of charts another time – that has to be worked on!

I’ve also been feverishly stitching up Halloween designs as well as a few others:

Next up, Thanksgiving stitching!

I acquired a smoke cabinet (whatever that is/was) at a local flea market. The woman wanted 20.00, but I got it for less than 10.00. It’s cute, smallish, and blue (my favorite color) and now resides inside my living room – I intend to use it for holiday displays (small displays of course)

Hope you are all having a fabulous fall!

a good day :)

So my day started by taking a trip to Morgantown with my best friend, her daughter, and mother.  I haven’t been there in two years and I like going – we hit the Super Goodwill store, the Windmill restaurant, a scratch and dent store and a grocery/fabric store (yes, it’s a combo – weird, huh?)

I got a new jacket, pants, a few books, two patio chairs (dirt cheap) and a couple of little presents for Christmas (I like to plan ahead) Then had a delicious chicken parm sandwich for lunch. Then on to the scratch and dent store – nothing much of interest, but I did pick up 7 cover girl eyeliners for a buck a piece, and some foundation also cheap. Hit the grocery store after (I visited the fabric area – be still my heart!) and bought a half yard of some Ronald McDonald fabric (for a R McD cross stitch I’ve been working on forever), two fat quarters of some pretty prints and a few skeins of WDW floss. Whew – good day, right?
I get home and about half hour later, I hear my daughter screaming for me (I’m out back, trying to maneuver the two chairs in a too small doorway) and the fire alarm is shreiking. Good Lord, I almost had a heart attack! She tells me there is smoke in her room – I run upstairs and see it is true, I think the fan must be broken, or the outlet blew, but I can’t find the source of the smoke. After a few minutes, we realize the knucklehead next door is grilling on the teeny tiny little patio out back that we share, and the smoke is coming from there. Jeez, my heart was racing and my hands were shaking for a good fifteen minutes! That is my worst fear – that a fire will break out in my house!

But all’s well that ends well, and there was no fire (thank GOD!)

How was YOUR day?

Some cross stitch I’ve done recently

these are designs I made for myself – I’ve been busy stitching up a storm. I also found a file filled with older patterns I made years ago, I’m working on those as well!

Japanese Rooster

Note to Self

Old Ladies

Sock Monkey

This Too Shall Pass

Toasters

Unlisted Number

sock monkey needlecase

a thoroughly disgusting observation

Did you know that when a cat eats a small mouse, it comes out the same way it went in?
Went to empty the litter box and discovered this truth.
Can you say it with me? EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

What a week

Well Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans (hey, I sounded like the president lol)
It’s been a week …. I lost my job AGAIN! (don’t laugh, I know you want to, but don’t!) I was laid off in November but called back one day a week in March. They let me go again on Thursday, said I wasn’t needed any longer. Sigh. The story of my life.

Thursday was also my mom’s birthday. She would have been 81 years old. (Hard to imagine) She passed on Dec 12, 1990, and I miss her every day still.

Then yesterday, my sister told me she had to have her appendix removed. Turns out when they went in this morning, it was so inflamed and infected that it affected a portion of her colon, which also had to be removed. Good Lord, that was scary. We expected her in and out of the OR, and 3 hours later, we’re told she’s going to ICU, but no details forthcoming at that point. Sheesh.
But she’s alright, everything went well, she’s alert and talking, so I know she’ll be ok.

And finally, there is a family of birds living (once again) in my son’s bedroom ceiling. There must be a small opening in the bricks at the top of the house, and unfortunately, we can’t get to it from inside as the closet has been rebuilt. (It’d have to be torn down to get to the point of entrance)
Anyhow, so far today there have been two sparrows frolicking in MY room! (One we managed to let out the window) The other one is still hiding behind my furniture. Meanwhile, I hear a constant chirping in his ceiling (it’s a dropped ceiling) and when I lifted up the panel, I see a little beak come out looking for food. How sad … it’s a baby and it’s mother is no longer in there with it   (And the cat is VERY interested in the chirping, he hasn’t moved from his spot on the floor in several hours) Ack! What to do, what to do? I don’t want to put it outside, it won’t survive, but if I leave it, it will most likely die!

So there’s been my exciting weekend … I’m now off to resume watching the Twilight Zone marathon and cross stitch some more.
Have a safe night!

First and most importantly (to me) ….

My baby GRADUATED today! I LOVE YOU CORINNE!

Above is Corinne (and her boyfriend, Tom) and my son (her brother) EJ.
I’m so thrilled for her accomplishments, and I’m so proud of her <3

In other news, lookee at the goodies I’ve acquired over the past few months (flea market, thrift stores, etc) Aren’t they cute!?

I’m still looking for a full time job, but luckily, my unemployment benefits were extended, so I’m not living in a cardboard box just yet!

I hope you all have a happy weekend