WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG??

Wow! I haven't posted since May!! Good excuse on that one. We went to New York City!! Had a great time despite the rain. And, I guess I've been too busy to post since then. In November we went to Florida for my Jr. college sorority reunion and then a week long Caribbean cruise. Fun!


But, this post is about some little gifty things I've made for the holidays this year.

This is where I found the idea for these key chains.

And here is where I got this snowman idea.

It is again time for These Are a Few of My Favorite Things May challenge #2. This one is "what is your favorite photo? This was a hugely difficult task. Narrow down years of pics to just one. Well, I have two, so far.


This first one is of a pigeon sitting on the ledge of the Empire State Building's observation desk. He just sat there. Not afraid of anyone or anything. I took several pics of this little bird and this one was my favorite because of the contrast of bird vs. New York. I printed 2 pics, cut out the pigeon and pop-dotted the cut out to make a 3-d effect.



But, this is the one that I am submitting for the challenge. I took this pic in 2009 from the airplane as we were going home. What a lucky shot! Over and over this one comes up as my favorite pic!
Thanks again for stopping by!!

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT SPRING

Well, it's one of my favorites, anyway. Here in Louisville, Derby IS Spring!!

I did this layout for These Are a Few of My Favorite Things challenge for the first half of May. "What is your favorite thing about Spring?"



Thanks for stopping by!

BIRD NEST UPDATE AND OTHER THINGS

So, Ms. Robin moved in and I am so amazed that they can build these things and they are so wonderfully round!

Then I had to climb up on a ladder because I just needed to know if anything was in it...

And, there is!!!

Today we went to the Cherokee Triangle Art show. It is always the weekend before Derby. Fortunately, everything has dried out enough to be comfortable. But, tomorrow is another story...more storms a-commin'

It started out with a little parade. It's for the kids, really...they love to dress up too.

This was early...it did get crowded

If you know me well, you know that I have an eclectic set of dishes. We get a place setting from various artists when we find them. I love setting the table with different patterns and colors for each person. And, of course, you do develop favorites for one reason or another. Today, we picked this pattern. The artist didn't have dining dishes in stock but he's going to make them for us with this pattern. We normally get a dinner plate, salad plate, and a bowl. This one pictured is actually a pasta/salad bowl. Really looking forward to this one!

And, of course, I found a little something for myself. I had the chain at home but saw this neat pendant! It is made from china dishes...the lady said they were called "alphabet dishes".

As always, thanks for stopping by!

BYE-BYE BIRDIE

Look what I found on our front porch last evening! Some little birdie was quite busy during the day. So sorry...I took a broom and swept it all away. I could just hear the blasted bird yelling at me, "Man! I worked all day on that! No I'm gonna have to start all over again!"

So, when I came home from work today, I looked out front and this is what I saw... Well, if that little bird didn't start all over again! I think no matter how many times I sweep this away, it will be built all over again. So, I'm gonna leave it...for now.

Now, I love birds as much as the next avid bird watcher but, what a mess!!

RED HOT BINGO

7 of us got together at Mylinda's this month and, as usual for Mylinda, we played bingo. This time it was White Elephant Bingo. Each of us brought a wrapped something to serve as bingo prizes.

Pam, Laura, Mylinda

Karen, Phyllis, Lorie

Game 1 Winner

Game 2 Winner (hmmm...OK, that's enough for you!)

Game 3 Winner (that's better!)

Game 4 Winner (that's what I contributed)

Game 5 winner (great basket!)

Game 6 winner...Steal time...Mylinda stole this one from Phyllis!

So, Phyllis got to pic another gift. Uh oh!! What have we here!!

Final game winner...What? You again?

YUM! Dessert time! :D

And finally, our monthly foot shot...

Congrats to all the winners, especially our big 3X winner, Laura!


We missed you, Barb, Sharon & Doreen. I'll see you all again in June.
Thanks for stopping by!
:D

CHALENGE TIME

I just love doing challenges. It's not winning or losing...it's the challenge itself; the departure from, perhaps, my usual. Great prompts or material challenges are so inviting!!

HERE WITH YOU is my response for April's #169 Scrapping the Music challenge - "Hanging by a Moment" by Lifehouse.

The journaling reads: "What is it about photos that you shy away from them so much? Did I have to coax you to sit for this one? One of the girls took this one at Red River Gorge 10/10."

Maybe it's because I take SO many pictures or he just doesn't feel confident in pics...don't know, maybe both. Hmmm....

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things challenge for the first part of April is to scrap about your favorite scrapping tool. I chose my Slice Elite. How ironic is it that just as I sat down to add all of my envisioned "Sliced" embellishments, it goes down. So, I called Making Memories and explained the problem. "Sounds like an internal problem", she said, "you'll have to send it in so we can check it out". Gahhhhhhhhhh! So, no Slice created embellishments on my Slice layout!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

BIRTHDAY

Mom would have been 84 years old today. She passed in 2003. It's been 8 years since I've been able to call her up and share our news. Eight years since I've heard her voice. My mom, Renee, is missed and loved every day.

IT WAS A VERY SCRAPPY DAY

It was really great to scrap yesterday, especially with Tracy. We haven't done that in quite a while and we hope to again on Friday.

Stephanie at about 2 1/2 - in New Jersey

Great memory for Steph...making juice with her grandmother down in Clearwater, FL

This one was at a family reunion on Memorial Day in New Jersey

Thanks for stopping by!
:D

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN...

This week at the 52 Week Project the challenge is to post something green...very appropriate for St. Patrick's Day! These are some of mine:

This is from 2009 but I just love it. Frank and I were in Nashville, IN in '09 and came upon this huge sunflower. Of course, Frank had to stick his hand in the pic to give this a little scale.

These next 2 pics are from the road just outside our neighborhood

And the, of course, how could I pass up my place of employment, JoAnn's. Green is our main color but there was so much more when I went on my green quest inside.

So, Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone, and think green today.
:D

Scrapping The Music

This is my layout for the song "Chances Are" by Five for Fighting.

MISSING MOM

I've been missing my mom a lot lately. She passed in 2003 after a long bout of emphysema. So I used a little scrapbook therapy.

ACTUALLY PROUD OF MYSELF

When the chill in the air started to seep into the store I knew I had to do something to help my poor little hands. Once they get chilled they stay chilled...down right bone cold. So, I bought a $1 pair of knit gloves that we sold in the store and proceeded to cut some of the fingertips off (so I could still handle the register). This worked for a while until, of course, the raw knit edged started to unravel.

"There's got to be a better way", I thought to myself... It was then that I decided to knit myself a pair of fingerless gloves. Sure...I could do that! Bought the pattern; bought the (sock) yarn; bought the (yikes) size 2 double pointed needles. I was ready.

It really only took me a couple of weeks to finish both of them and not without a few mistakes, tear outs and some very choice words. So, here is the end result---

I really fell in love with the yarn and the great colors...and it hides some of the imperfections.

I had to add a clear snap to each flap so that they didn't just fly around. I was getting them caught in the register drawer! Awkward.

The end result may not be perfect and maybe only I can see the mistakes, but I am very proud of myself for actually finishing this project! AND, I got tons of compliments on them at work. Unfortunately, I didn't have them for the whole winter and haven't needed to wear them in about 2 weeks but I know they will keep my hands nice and comfy next time I need them.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

(p.s...I still can't get my blog background changed!)