Been Awhile

Yes, it has been a while since my last post. It hasn't become quite the habit  for me yet, but it's not that I don't think about it. Often times when at the computer, I think that I should write something and then I think, "no, that's boring" or "no, I don't have any followers yet anyhow"... so, I go on to something else. I also planned on adding more photos than I have.

I have been crafting. There is a local show that I use to participate in years back and have been contemplating getting back into it. I need to get my product inventory built up to a great amount so that when family life gets demanding, I can take a day from it here and there.

Today was one of those days where I took a break and visited with three different people. It was nice seeing people who I don't get to see often, but I really do feel like I need to pick my pace back up again tomorrow because I lost a day of production.

Oh, before I forget... I got to go to a flea market over the weekend and hubby and I wore ourselves out walking through it, but did find some treasures that I just love. Old skeleton keys, handmade lace, baby shoes, and old tin cup, any other odds and ends that make me happy!

Goodnight for now!

Desert Sun

The heat and drought still prevails over the vegetation here in the mid-west. I quit watering long ago for fear that our well would dry up, so it feels like we are vacationing in the Southwest or somewhere. Thank God the humidity has been tolerable. It is horribly sad to see the plants and flowers wither. I put a lot of heart and soul into the gardens just because I love doing it. There comes a time when you just have to realize certain things are out of our control. "To Everything There is a Season..."

As soon as I feel satisfied with my latest decorative painting project, I will post pictures. A friend of mine looked at it today and said that she loved it the way it is. I am obviously more critical than she so feel the need to touch some areas up before I sign my name to it and apply a sealer. It does feel wonderful to get a paint brush back into my hands. I can hardly wait to start another project already.

Aside from the painting, I am still sewing some stockings and am working on some throw pillows for the newly covered couch and chair in my living room. I'll be happy to have guests over now that everything is looking a bit fresher!

Hoping all is well out there.
Tina

July 17th Already

Wow, where is this month going? I guess when you have wonderful grandkids to spend part of their summer vacation with their grandparents, time isn't so noticed until that vacation is gone. The house always seems so quiet when they leave and I miss them already.

I think that I mentioned the choice that I made about staying home to "work". It has only been about a month and first on the agenda was to get the house back in order and organized. I work SO much more efficiently if I am somewhat organized. I don't like excessive clutter. So my craft area is more on track and I started with simple things while the grands were here... some stockings that can eventually join my inventory for sale. However, I'm anxious to start painting again, so may scoot the fabric items over and start some hand painted ornaments soon.

I got a little side-tracked yesterday by cleaning up the tool area of the basement to make room for that "must have" treadmill that hubby and I had to have three years ago. We have several weight machines and benches as well as a bike down there so, in my household re-organization decided that it needed to be re-located too. Once moved, it will leave more room in hubby's office and library space. That should be the final inside house project before I can get fully engulfed in my "work".

I have started making my gift-giving list for Christmas and wish that I could get them accomplished half as fast as they come into my head. I may become more monetarily rich if I could!

For now, Still Happily Posting!

Independence Day

I hope your Independence Day was full of sparkles and shimmer! Ours was rather quiet and I'm fine with that. I spent some time in my little studio and as it is still a work in progress, I am becoming quite fond of it! Will post pictures some day.

Last night I went through some old instructional/pattern books for inspiration and then I actually started designing some Christmas ornaments. I so want to get a huge jump start so that I am not so overwhelmed closer to the season. We have a distant wedding to attend in the fall and tons of Birthdays too, so you will find me in my studio from here on out, just trying to stay on top.

I have had the pleasure of reading some of your Blogs and am happy with the creativity and beauty of your posts. I hope that we can connect in the future, but for now I will continue to learn and grow.

Until next time, God Bless!

Thank You Card

As I haven't been creating gift cards for very long; a very dear friend of ours sent me a nice sentiment the other day and filled it with some of her favorite recipes. Like handmade gifts, receiving sweet letters in the mail is also a rarity, so I decided to respond with a handmade Thank You card. This is what I came up with in a bit of a hurry, but I think she will appreciated it none the less.

Sorry, as I am my own worse critic, I had to take the photo of the card off because it just was pretty generic after looking back at it.

All I had in my stash was some brown paper card stock and some watercolor stock. I used the watercolor stock. The paper is from 7gypsies. I tea dyed the muslin and stamped Thank You from Stampabilities with Jim Holtz, Vintage Photo ink. I chose to stitch around the muslin and attach a small pale sea foam vintage button with a larger unusual pearl  button dangling, for a bit of textural effect. The velum strip didn't want to lay flat so I tacked a small snap between "for your" and "kindness". (It helped, but I will use brads next time). The medallion was done the old fashioned way and attached to it is just a small (source unknown) jute bow. 

This was a fun little project and now with all the future projects jumping around in my head and the gift giving plans, I need to get down to the craft room and ORGANIZE. I have sewing stuff in my laundry room and have been using the kitchen table as of late for those still un-finished cushions, so I am really anxious to get it all more unified.

God bless you day!

Quick jaunt...

It's been pretty busy here. We just celebrated two birthdays a day apart and we hosted both parties.
Everything outside seems to be drying up as we are experiencing "summer" with 107 degree predictions tomorrow. NOT looking forward to the next few days of heat and drought.
I watered the vegetable and fruit gardens and a couple flower garden areas. We run off of a deep well, so in times like this I start worrying about conserving when possible just in case the ground water disappears.
In getting my house semi-back in order, I have been brainstorming for new and fresh ideas for creative gifts to make. I'm anxious to get started, but am forcing myself to finish the couch cushions before moving on to more enjoyable activities. The back cushions are all that I have left to sew and one seat that needs a slight adjustment. I should also throw a few pillows onto the feed dogs too, just to add a little bling.
It is late for me this p.m. so need to get to sleep so that I can wake with new energy in the a.m. I hope to start posting some photos soon.

Today's Plate

Loyalty to blogging is my plan! Here it is another day and I can't believe how suddenly there is so many topics popping into my head during the day and I want to hurry up and blog about them. It didn't happen though, that I could actually stop and run upstairs to the computer. But because the day was so full of needed tasks I can proudly say I'm pleased to accomplish all that I did.

I have begun a few much needed projects around my home that I have wanted to for quite some time and couldn't because of work. I am no longer working outside of the home full time so am striving to make progress. First on the long agenda list is re-covering my couch cushions.

 

 

The Reason

It took several trips back and forth on several different occasions to both Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's before finding affordable upholstery fabric. $8.00 per yard in comparison to $35.00 per yard is a huge bargain for me. The fabric was an end roll and discontinued but it is real close to what I was looking for. The colors of gray, black, browns, tans woven throughout have the same tones as our rock fireplace so I think with some accents of coral pillows and wall decor will brighten up our family room!

Color Choices

   
This morning I got all the pieces cut out and some sewn and/or pinned together. This pleases me immensely! I chuckle to myself as I hear the woman's voice at a local upholster shop tell me that they charge $35.00 per cushion! I wanted to choke. That would have been $280. before tax and before fabric. People obviously walk in there and pay that amount without even blinking because it is a well established business and they do a wonderful job. I however, am a DIY er and actually enjoy homemaking anyway, so being thrifty also fits right into my lifestyle.

In Progress, "Yay"!!

That leads me to one of those thoughts that I wanted to rush up and blog about. I filled my day with everything for my family and home. Fixed three meals, played with the dog, went for a power walk with hubby, checked on the garden, put clean sheets on the bed, took a shower, and before I knew it I'm squeezing in a few minutes of blog time before I put my head on my pillow and zonk out. I know how dirty my house gets with just three grown adults and an occasional grandchild. I can't help but wonder what so many people do these days to keep a decent house running when they are constantly on the go. I know some who hire others to clean for them and I know those who just live in filth. I actually enjoy cleaning my home because I want it to be both healthy and comfortable.

I would like to hear what your comments on the delema of finding time to clean your home. Is there a method that works for you? A system?

Beginning

Blogging is new to me so as with the name that I chose, I hope anyone with an interest will accept that this may take a few attempts before I become more fluent in my writing and posting!

I am happy to be here and hope that you are as well. Many interesting topics can be shared along the way and I am looking forward to your feedback.

I am old school and appreciate the less modern way of living in many areas of my life. I feel passionate about keeping some of the lost arts of generations past, alive and well. A hard feat in today's high tech world. Although I know a dear lady who still keeps a hand written journal on paper and has fifty-plus years worth, I do love the convenience of typing.

Part of what I want to blog about is the fact that there seems to be less and less available time to get all the things I need to get done in any given day. I was told that the older we get the faster that rapidly disappearing time does fly. Hardly seems fair to me.

I am a forty-eight year old grandmother of five, mother of two and sister to nine. To some of you, that may not seem old, but trust me when I tell you that my life has been very full of enough events to make me feel quite older than the date on my birth certificate.

I thought about some things that I would share before I came upon this particular service and told myself that I would strive for uplifting and positive posts. Probably the most difficult for me will be finding a beginning... I have a lot to say and a lot I want to share.

For now, I want to search around for lay-out designs and the like as I have not gotten that far as of this post.

Looking forward!