Bucket List?

I don't have a real bucket list. More of a do-over list. I know it's never good to look backwards at mistakes, so I won't go there. My Catholic upbringing has provided me with endless hours of guilt ridden pain. But here are some things I wish I had done before it was too late to do them:

1. Gone to more concerts before these people died. I would love to have seen Elvis in concert or Michael Jackson, or the Beatles, or Frank Sinatra.  There aren't too many celebs I'd pay to see, but I'd have paid to see these. PS, if I ever get a chance to see Bette Midler, I'm in!
2. Played more with my children. As a grandmother, I am experiencing that pleasure with my grandchildren. How sad that I didn't know it was so much fun to play with a child when I was a young mother. Too much time worrying about what I thought were more important issues, I guess.
3. Danced with my father. I've posted about that before. I had very few opportunities to do that, but missed the moment to dance with him at our 8th grade dance. I was too embarrassed to let my classmates see me dance with him and have regretted that moment forever. He died too soon and I never had another chance. The song Dance With My Father brings me to my knees. Every. Single. Time.
4. Gone to college. Surprising that it's 4th on my list? Not to me. To be truthful, I'm not sure what direction I would have taken, but I wish I could say "I have a degree in...". I was smart enough to go, but poor enough not to.
5. Learned French. I took Spanish starting in elementary school through high school. After 40 years, I've lost most of that, but can understand some words. I have always loved french and wish I had taken courses, and would love to be fluent.
6. Rethought my 20's. No explanations, just sayin'.

2012 is looking like a good year, and I hope I can keep my promise to myself to be a better person, love more, laugh more, and stress less.

Partreena Chinka Pear Tree

I was reminded of my daughter's childhood recently when I took my grandsons to see Santa. When she was in kindergarten they were learning songs for a Christmas play at school. Back when you could call it a Christmas play. She would sing the songs at home, my first clue that they were learning them. She belted out the 12 Days of Christmas, only her version of the first day was not "partridge in a pear tree" it was Partreena Chinka Pear Tree. The first time I heard it, my head spun around... "Say that again for me honey." She repeated it in her version. I told her "no, it's partridge in a pear tree" saying each word slowly because I knew she had never heard the word "partridge" before. Of course, mama was wrong, and she was right, so she sang it that way until someone wiser told her otherwise. Probably a classmate. She was and is a stubborn thing and has been blessed with a child who has the same tendencies.

My son was a huge Sesame Street toddler. Loved every episode. I believe he learned his letters from it when he was 18 months old (I swear). He was very articulate, but had a few words he struggled with. He could say "cookie" and he could say "monster", but put them together and he came out with "Coochers".  Big Bird was "Beeboo" and Oscar was "Ockers".

I picked up my grandsons from daycare recently and they knew full well that we were going to see Santa that night. Little Braydon announced he learned a new song in class and wanted to sing it for me. (I love these boys with all my heart) I turned my car radio off so I could savor every word. "Go ahead, sweetie." Mind you, both my boys have a lisp when they talk so sometimes I am amused in a way that only another grandmother would understand. "I have a friend who hath a beard and Thanta ith hith name-o... Eth-A-N-T-A! Eth-A-N-T-A! Eth-A-N-T-A! and Thanta ith hith name-o." Proud as a peacock, that boy was. He smiled at me in my rear view mirror and I smiled back at him. Did I correct him at that moment? No, I didn't. Oh, we practice the S sound a lot, but in that moment, I just couldn't burst his proud little bubble.

So Merry Christmas to all of you and may you have the absolute pleasure of enjoying your family for what they are. It makes me smile out loud and brings back sweet memories of my own children's early years.

Let it snow!

This is the Pinterest inspiration - LOVE

I had the pleasure of making Christmas gifts with my grandsons to give to their family members. I started by going to Walmart to get some supplies. I bought 3 plain 8x10 frames that were $1.97 each. I found a package of 8x10 canvas (3 per pack), got some paint (blue and white) some roller brushes, glitter glue and star confetti. I had envisioned making a hand-print piece of art similar to something I had seen on Pinterest. (see above)

I pre-painted the background by mixing some white with blue and rolling it on the canvas. If you don't mix the paints well, you get this awesome looking "cloudy" sky. Then I added snow drifts to hold the family of snow people by rolling on just white paint.

When I got to their house, we spread out all of the supplies on the dining room table and got to work. I told the boys we were making a snowman picture. Mind you, I had planned to paint their hands with white paint (duh, snowmen are white) but as soon as Mason saw the bottle of blue paint, he announced his snowmen would be blue. Hmmmm, I said. OK, blue it is. Isn't that the best part of being 4? You aren't confined by any preconceived notions. My little man Mason has a very strong sense of himself and what he wants. "I'm first!" he declared. Little brother Braydon is fully aware of big brother's strong personality and sat patiently while I painted Mason's hand blue, three times (once for each picture) Then Braydon's turn. He wanted white snowmen. Maybe the blue snowmen are just really, really colder than the white ones. :)

After they each pressed their hands onto the canvases, I gave them some glitter glue and a bag of pretty star confetti for the sky. They were a little heavy handed with the glitter glue, but who doesn't get excited by glitter glue?  As a result, we have a very starry sky, and how beautiful it is!

I embellished each snowman with seed bead eyes and mouths and little pieces of orange fun foam noses. I used markers to draw scarves and hats and ear muffs.
I attached a label on the backs with the a "Merry Christmas" message, the year, and their ages. I hope the recipients love them as much as the boys loved making them.

Baby Bling

Baby Kinsley is almost here and her Gigi is anxiously awaiting the big day. Her big brothers have finally come to accept that 1: She's a girl, and 2: She is not replacing one of them (much to Mason's chagrin). He just knew when mama told them the news, that he was going to be trading in his little brother for this new baby. Then of course, they went through the naming of the baby. "Batman" was at the top of the list. After 7 1/2 months, they have accepted "Kinsley Faith" as her name, and are looking forward to meeting her.

I found an old pearl necklace that my dad gave me when I was a little girl and thought that repurposing it for my first granddaughter would be an awesome thing. The pearls are yellowed with that lovely vintage-y (that's got to be a word) look. I bought some pale baby pink Swarovski crystals and a little oval bead with a K on it. I added a tiny crystal-studded star charm to the clasp. It is precious if I must say so myself and I can't wait to see it on her tiny wrist.

I also found a sweet poem that I will print out and tuck in the box for her...

"Once upon a time a baby girl was born.

This pearl and crystal bracelet upon her wrist was worn.

The years went by and the young girl grew.

Something old, something new,

Something borrowed, something blue.

A lucky penny for her shoe...

These treasures she'll recall with pride

When this sweet baby becomes a bride."

The Big Six-O... wait, what?!

This birthday will be my year to get the “Kaelin sweatshirt” that is being passed around to each of the Kaelin cousins that hits the 60 mark. Kaelin is my mom’s maiden name, and we have (I think) 32 first cousins on that side of the family. Being a child of the oldest daughter, I’m kind of high on the list (I think only a handful have had it before me) but my reign will be a short one. My cousin Joanie is right behind me, so when her turn comes, the sweatshirt will travel to St. Louis. A quick reminder of hitting this dreaded milestone birthday, and then I can pass it on to the next victim.

I have been attending a lot of “Mile Marker” birthdays recently and have come up with an idea for my own celebration. I would like my family and friends to commit random acts of kindness (RAOK) for 60 days in honor of my 60 years. So, starting on November 4^th, please think of me and commit an occasional friendly act. (I know you are cringing, but you can do it) Need help coming up with an idea? This one is my favorite: When driving through a fast food chain, pay the bill for the person behind you in line. I do that as often as I can, and usually can maintain my anonymity because I am gone by the time that person realizes what has happened. Once, I got behind someone inside a fast food place and asked the lady who was in front of me if she minded if I paid for her lunch. She looked totally surprised and a little confused. I said… “I don’t know you, I just have a little extra money and would like to buy your lunch.” She told me that was the nicest thing that had ever happened to her. I wasn’t looking for that acknowledgement actually. The feeling you get from doing something nice is overwhelmingly rewarding enough. 

Sometimes when I eat at a fast food restaurant that offers kid’s meals, I get one and offer the toy to a child in the restaurant. A small gesture for sure, but one that puts a smile on a child’s face for a minute or two. I think our nation has turned kind of cold hearted, and I think we need to get back to the Golden Rule when it comes to interaction with each other. Here are some more ideas:

• Leave money in a vending machine for the next person
• Leave a book/magazine you’ve finished in a reception area for someone else to read
• Send a thank-you card to one of our troops overseas
• Drop off a game or toy at a women's shelter
• Donate a teddy bear to the police department
• Place a few coins in the park’s playground area for children to “find”
• Put a few bucks in an envelope and mail it anonymously to someone you know going through a hard time
• Let a driver in front of you if they are in the wrong lane (let go of that hidden road-rage)
• Ask a friend to lunch, and pick up the tab
• Help a stranger load their groceries into their car at the grocery store
• Return a couple of stray carts to the correct location
• Put coins in an expired parking meter for someone who might get a ticket otherwise
• Give a stranger a scratch-off ticket
• Buy from a child’s lemonade stand - always
• Straighten up a card display that has been disheveled by other customers

Some of these cost something, but there are plenty of ways to be kind without spending a dime. Make eye contact and smile at someone…  Thank a police officer/fireman/soldier/nurse for what they do… Offer to help someone reach for an item too high for them at the grocery store… Leave a positive comment on someone’s webpage if you like it … Make donations of used housewares or clothes or furniture to Hospice/Goodwill or any other non-profit thrift store… Offer to babysit for a friend… Before placing an order at a counter, ask the person (with a smile on your face) “How are you today?”- It gets the transaction off to a very friendly start, plus more than likely that person has been dealing with cranky people all day… Compliment a stranger’s shoes/purse/outfit/hairdo. (“Love your shoes!”)… Because I have worked in retail settings before, I tend to “greet” fellow shoppers simply out of habit. I can say that some people do not reply, but most people do. You never know when your act of kindness will make their day… Say Thank You often and genuinely.

So here you go, my sweet family and friends. No gifts for me, no party, no fuss. Just knowing that maybe I have inspired a random act here and there is all I want. Plus, let me hear from you, tell me what you did, or not. Being anonymous is the best part really, so keep it to yourself if you want to. I surround myself with good-hearted people, and expect that all of you already do kind things. Pay it forward. And happy early 60th birthday to me.

Baby's coming!

This is the time of the year that I can't catch my breath with all of the activities I have in my schedule. Not complaining... it's what keeps me motivated to get up every day. This year has been particularly busy and my new baby granddaughter's arrival is at the top of the list of "loves". She will make her grand entrance late this year or early next January. Maybe a birthday gift to me? Or a Christmas gift to her big brothers. We'll see. So far she has made her presence known to her mama in the form of gymnastics in the womb. I get to put my hand on her belly when I see mama and feel my little princess moving about.  I treasured every little kick and poke of my own babies. Isn't that just the grandest of all gifts... to feel your baby moving and shuffling positions. I miss that.

There will be a baby shower next weekend and I volunteered to help with some decorations. I chose the yellow/black/white nursery colors to use as my inspiration. I found this picture on Pinterest, of an invitation and loved the pattern...

I decided that this would make an adorable centerpiece so I went about recreating the image to a large format.





<-------  (PINTEREST IMAGE)

I started with a 12x12 piece of background paper, cut it to 9x12 then folded it in half. I have always found it easier to make a symmetrical pattern by folding the paper in half, then when you open it, it is perfect. (Remember making valentines that way?)

To make it even easier, I used things in my craft room that were circular (spools of ribbon) to make the rounded shapes for the leg and neck holes. One of the bonuses of that plan was that the little open hole in the middle of the spool became my guide to the perfect placement. When I could see the corner of the paper in the middle, I knew I was dead center.

I used a larger spool of ribbon for the neck hole.

This is the finished pattern. I traced that onto my chosen background papers. I was making 2 centerpieces, so I needed 2 patterns for each one (front & back)

Like the design on the invitation, I added bows and buttons with a gel glue, and made some paper "eyelet lace" for embellishment around the neck, legs, and arms. I glued the two patterns to a piece of scrap foam board for stability. The most tedious part of the project was hand cutting around the pattern with an exacto knife. I only "scored" the space between the tops of the onesies, so that it would fold, and make a tent shape. You'll see that later. I also added some brads in the crotch area to look like snaps.

This is what it looked like after cutting it out. I left small tabs at the bottom to use for a stand.

So cute!!!! I'm really happy with the way they turned out. I found these awesome letter stickers at Walmart (ekSuccess) for a $1. There are 52 in each pkg... one upper and one lowercase of each letter.  Really cute font, and the perfect size. I added a simple phrase to each side.

Pretty and silvery.

Love it!
Love Pinterest.

Thank you, to the original artist who came up with the idea. I hope you like my take on it.

Don't Blink

Don't Blink
Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink

I love Kenny Chesney and I love this particular song. I have had a lot of reasons, recently to make this a very personal song for me.

I blinked and my babies grew into adults right before my eyes. I remember my son's high school principal telling us at our first parent night "Hold on to your hats, the next 4 years are gonna fly by." And fly by they did. That was 11 years ago.

I blinked, and my oldest grandson Mason is approaching 5. Time for kindergarten next year, or as he calls it "kettle garden". Wasn't it just yesterday when I was there in the delivery room? Now we are preparing for grandbaby #3. Little sister Kinsley will be here before we know it.

I blinked and my first 59 years on this earth have almost passed. The Big six-oh is coming in January. What?! I swear, I still feel 24 inside. The memories are so vivid of when my husband and I were first dating. Wasn't that just a couple of years ago?  No. That was 35 years ago.

I blinked and my mom got old. Really old... she hit 90 last month. How can that be? She's a frail, tired, shell of herself and dementia has taken most of her memories. She's still fiercely independent in her heart, but needs us to physically help her get through each day.

It's been a good ride. I'm learning to appreciate all the good moments in my life. Even the bad ones. They make me really appreciate the good ones. And if I live as long as my mom, another 30 good years that hopefully won't go by in a blink.


and the rest of the song...


So I've been tryin' ta slow it down
I've been tryin' ta take it in
In this here today, gone tomorrow world we're livin' in

Repurposed vintage bottles

After creating more than 400 snowmen (holy guacamole) we have decided we're done. Sometimes when you do something you love soooooo much, you no longer love it. That's not entirely true here, we still love doing them, but this is our 3rd year and it's time to move on to bigger and better things. And because we still have a massive stash of "stuff" to work with, we have taken a different direction with our bottles. We were inspired to create altered bottles using some vintage lace, some vintage buttons, some beach finds from last weekend and a whole lot of other goodies. Here are some:


I have some printed french vintage labels, and some beautifully aged vintage lace and a large assortment of jewelry pieces and filler pearls.

These sea themed bottles have shells and feathers we found at the beach after a stormy night. The one on the right has what looks like a barnacle for a cap, with a feather from a sea bird tucked in the lace. The one on the left has a whole remnant of a sea urchin for the cap, (they are NEVER whole on the beach... always in pieces because they are so fragile) and is filled with pearls and tiny feathers. There are crystals and pearls and a shell hanging from the neck. They are so sweet and would look so pretty on a shabby chic vanity or dresser or even on a side table as part of a vignette. We hope you like looking at them. They will be part of our offerings at the Mandarin craft show in October.

For this one, we used vintage buttons to make flowers. We have so many old salt & pepper shakers that it just made sense to put flowers in them like a vase. This one has more vintage buttons inside of the shaker.

"I do it"

"I do it." That's what my daughter used to tell me when she was a toddler and I was trying to do something for her like tie her shoes or pick out her clothes or help her up onto the potty.  Nope, she wasn't gonna have it. She was a big girl and didn't need or want help from me.

I got the guts to go out in the garage and get my own damned crates, thank you very much. I am a big girl and often put on those proverbial panties. No snakes...yippee.

Here is a geezer trick I have perfected and it comes in very handy on many occasions. "Take off your glasses to do stuff that creeps you out".  I swear, it works. I may trip over a few things here and there, but I don't see any snakes or snake skins. I have done it to remove a bug carcass from the floor and to clean the "boy toilet". If you can't tell what it is, then it's OK to pick it up or clean it. Try it sometime if you wear glasses or are as old as dirt like me.

So at least I was wise to go out early before the sun roasted the walls of my garage making it inhabitable to everything but snakes and spiders. I won't embarrass myself and tell you how many trips it took to get them inside. Last year I weeded out all but the "special" things. I took a massive amount to work to offer up to my fellow workers. I did the same thing with Christmas stuff. So, theoretically I shouldn't have much left. I believe "special" is one of those relative terms, because I still have more crates than I care to admit. I'm not a hoarder, unless that's a relative term too.

Here are some of my favorite things:

This is the coolest mummy. He has his butt crack showing in the back which makes me smile out loud. He is propped on top of one of my antique store finds, a cool orange and black spice tin.

This is a treat from Jan and is an Etsy find. Love! She is flanked by one of my many Frankensteins. Orange and black has the power to make me think it is cooler than it really is. August (even this late) is hotter than hell in Florida. For that matter, so is September and October. But every day, I come home and look at my fall things and feel cooler and happier. Soon I will get out my Department 56 Halloween houses to round it all off. Happy Fall, y'all.

Don't be scared!

Oh, be still my heart! I see orange and black in the stores which means I am in my glory. I just got back today from a 4 day trip to NC to visit Terri. We did our annual "shop till we drop" in Asheville on day one, then Franklin NC and Dillard GA on day 2. Janice came with me for the trip and the 3 of us touched every single piece of "stuff" in every single antique store and antique mall we visited. I am always looking for props for my Halloween collectibles. As a matter of fact, my eyes automatically go to anything orange and black and if it's not intended for Halloween, I will come up with a way to repurpose it so it will. I already have a huge collection of props, but one can never have too many of those, can one! Props, to me, are vintage tins and boxes that are comprised of Halloween colors that add a little pop to whatever is sitting on top of it. Here are my latest scores:

These will all house some little cute sumpn sumpn from my spooky stash. I love love love Halloween and fall even if fall in Florida means high 90 temperatures. I didn't pay more than $5 for any of these (yea!) and I love'm all. Since I have to go in my garage and get my crates, where it is 140°, I have been putting off my Halloween decorating this year. I foolishly keep thinking it's going to get cool enough for me to go out there. I will send my brave husband out there to retrieve them, mainly because for the last 2 years, I have found snake skins under my crates. We all know what that means.  2 years ago it was a kind of short skin, last year it was bigger... much bigger.  I discovered, much to my surprise (not), that the sight of a snakeskin makes me pee a little. And yes, the sight of a whole, live snake makes me pee a lot and squeal uncontrollably for a very long time like a 9 year old girl. Can't help it. I hate to say this, but if you are with me and we see a snake, I am going to mount myself directly on top of your head. Or, I will throw your butt so fast in it's path, your head will spin. So, Happy Halloween! and don't be scared.

Anniversary # 32

We met in Jacksonville while we were working for the same company. I was a jewelry buyer for a 17 store - chain of catalog showrooms. Remember those? They've all gone by the wayside now, but in the 70's they were all over the country. He was a jewelry department manager. We worked closely together for a while and then got "flirty" with each other. We started dating and I was in love! He was 8 1/2 years older than me, 6'5" tall and reminded me of Pernell Roberts. Pernell, of course, was the older brother Adam on Bonanza.
We moved to Seattle Washington after dating for a couple of years. He had received a big promotion and was now working in the corporate office of another catalog showroom with stores in Washington and Oregon. They hired me too, to be a part of their buying staff. We lived together (gasp!) because it just made sense. Mama was not happy. She didn't like that VW camper owning guy who took her daughter camping all over Florida. She referred to him as "What's-his-name" only. Never by his given name. So when he took me all the way to Seattle, it was on like Donkey Kong. When I called, she'd say "Are you alone?" Uh, no, ma, I'm not.  I told her I was cold up there in the Pacific Northwest and she crocheted a lap blanket for me. I wish I still had it, I might have stored it somewhere, but who knows where. This lap blanket was only wide enough for one person. It is hilarious, we both laughed our butts off when it arrived.  No evil camper-owning man was going to snuggle with her daughter, that's for sure. When we finally decided to set a date, I hesitated to invite anyone. Mom was so upset with me for such a long time and I really didn't think she'd approve of our marriage. Surprisingly, she and my dad came. On our way to the airport to pick them up, I apologized in advance to my husband for what my mom might say to him. Back then, you could walk up to the gate and wait for passengers to deplane. There they are! I see them... and to my total amazement, mom passes right by me and hugs him first! After that, he was golden to her.

So we have been together for 32 years. Mom is 90 this year and still as feisty as she ever was. I saw on Pinterest recently an adorable gift idea for an anniversary, so of course, I copied it. And here is my version...

This is the journey of our lives together. I found maps on the internet of all the significant places we shared, like our first date destination, cities we lived in, places where we vacationed, took a snapshot (on my Mac) of all of them and adjusted them in Illustrator to be about 1 1/2 inches square each. I printed them out on glossy photo paper, and cut them out with a heart punch. I bought a 12x12 shadow box frame at Hob Lob with a 50% off coupon for $10. I had planned a total of 25 hearts, and put them in chronological order. I cut a 12x12 mat and placed them in 5 rows of 5, then when I was pleased with the placement, I mounted them with foam squares... so they popped. You could do this without the shadowbox frame and just make them flat, but I love how more interesting it looks with dimension.
I started with Daytona Beach (our first date) and ended with a satellite image of our house I found on Zillow. Most of the maps came from Map Quest. I have a couple of our favorite restaurants too. I jut looked them up on the internet and snapped a shot of their logos. Corky Bell's in East Palatka is one of our favorites places. We love to go outside and eat on the deck facing the St. John's River. They have the most awesome fried shrimp!

Beverly Beach was one of the places where we used to go camping. They had a campground that was right on the beach so we could hear the waves all night long. It is between St. Augustine and Daytona on A1A.

 

Our anniversary is on September 10, so I'm going to hide it until then. I think that he will be pleased. Happy Anniversary, Pieface!

Office Ugly to Office Pow

We recently went through a massive cleaning in our department and lots of offices put their excess furniture up for grabs. I grabbed a chair that had good bones and style, but was just blah. This is the before:

 Nice style, well made, and in great shape. Other than the stained seat (I don't want to know where that stain came from) and the dust in the tufts, it is looking good.

Close-up of the dusty tufts. Ewww. Gross.















and the after... I went for a spunky chic look, very different from what it looked like before.

I am in love! I took the seat off and covered it in a really pretty black and white print (Walmart) and spray painted the chair Ocean Breeze Blue (love that color). I know absolutely nothing about reupholstering furnure, so the tufted part wasn't going to get changed.  I decided to just paint it! I used good old acrylic craft paint to which I had added some fabric medium. Recovering the seat was easy enough. I simply traced the seat onto my material and made a pattern from that. She's a cutie, right outside my office door, a little "waiting area" as it were.  :)

Beach Inspiration

Having my button stash and crystals and findings at the beach = pretties to take home. Three more bracelets to add to my collection. The first was inspired by the ocean colors. Beautiful blues, greens, aquas and turquoise.

I took the picture on the balcony on a wine glass, and yes, the wine glass had its share of activity this weekend. This morning it was full of a Mimosa with breakfast: Scrambled eggs, sauteed mushrooms and a fresh fruit salad of blueberries, mango and blackberries. Life is good at the beach.










The next bracelet is pale pinks, and salmon, and peachy colors, with pearls and crystals. Beautiful as well.

The third one is made with vintage off-white buttons and I used champagne crystals and pearls. I ran out of clasps, so it isn't completely finished. I'll photo it when it's done. I think it's my favorite.

K

I'm at the beach with my crafting buds and brought one of my K's from my collection to embellish. I rediscovered a pile of vintage buttons in my stash, and thought the two would go well together. I found this particular K at Hob Lob 1/2 price (booyah!) so the whole project cost me $1.50.  Love it!

A little E6000 and it was done. More button crafts to follow : )

Bead Break!

Jan is here visiting and she is helping me take a break from sewing (phew!) by making some jewelry. We both have a huge stash of just about anything you can imagine in a craft room, including buttons and an endless supply of crystal beads. We both love, love bracelets so today we made two each. The first is a bead/button one in shades of lavender and vintage off-white.

 

Wowzers! How beautiful, I can't wait to wear it.

The second was a steampunk bracelet. Jan has tons of little trinkets including old game pieces that she drilled for wiring. Very cute too. Fun, fun, fun!

 

 We used old Monopoly pieces, vintage wooden Bingo markers, old metal bobbins, subway tokens, dice, pieces of an old wooden ruler cut into small sections (I chose a 5 and a 2 for the year I was born), an old metal pen nib, vintage buttons and beads. The large glass turquoise and white bead on the end is one I made in a class a couple of summers ago. That one keeps me humble. Although I admit, I do well on most crafts, making glass beads is not easy, takes a lot of skill and patience and practice. I gained a tremendous amount of respect for people who make them.


Fun day, Jan! I love you, thanks for the break. Tomorrow we shop.

Bunting

Bye, baby bunting
Daddy's gone a hunting
To get a little rabbit skin
To wrap his baby bunting in

This is another project I finished and I used the same fat quarters from the owl project. I plan to put the bunting all the way around the ceiling of the nursery. I photographed it outside on my fence until I can put it where it belongs, in Tater's room. Very cute, very simple.

I ironed the fat quarters then folded them into fourths. I cut the folds ending up with 4 separate rectangles. I had 16 different materials to use, so I got 64 rectangles total. After cutting a cardstock triangle to use as a pattern, I drew that triangle on a piece of white muslin the same size as the 64 triangles. I paired one muslin piece with one fat quarter piece and sewed on the line of the triangle pattern. I used my new pinking shears to cut the triangles. I had 4 pale yellow bias tape packages to use to string the triangles. I sewed them on with a zigzag stitch. 

Oh, we're getting closer! We find out next month (Aug 8th) if Tater is a boy or girl. Woohoo!