Shake Your Pom Poms!

Oh yeah, shake your pom poms! Okay, not really, but how about making a pom pom garland?

Aren't these great for birthday parties? They are so super easy to make!

The ice cream cones are my favorite.

Now I am totally addicted to pom poms. I want to make a whole room out of them!

Check out the video to make your own pom pom garland.

Craftster is Turning 10!

I can't believe it! My favorite crafty website is turning 10! How cool is that? I can't believe it has been that long. So many years of crafty goodness!

To celebrate 10 years, the wonderful folks at Craftster have put together an amazing Challenge. Entries are due August 7-13th  The grand prize includes:

• A canvas Red Heart project bag/tote
• 6 sheets of Phoomph! in both Stiff and Soft
• The September/October 2013 edition of Crochet Today!
• 3 skeins of Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable yarn
• A 6mm Susan Bates Bamboo Handle Crochet Hook
• Dubonnet Poncho crochet pattern from Red Heart
• A stitchable iPhone 4/4s case

The theme for this challenge is "What Craftster means to me." Now, don't be scared of this theme! Craftster is made by YOU, Craftster can mean different things to different people so whatever it means to you, that's great!!

You can find the challenge threads for each specific category in this list! They will list the full rules and the prize for that category:

Bath and Beauty - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424909.0
Clothing - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424884.0
Cooking - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424865.0
Crochet - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424891.0
Fiber Arts - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424850.0
Glass Crafts - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424862.0
Home Sweet Home - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424896.0
Image Reproduction Techniques - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424912.0
Jewelry and Trinkets - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424913.0
Knitting - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424895.0
Miscellaneous Topics - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424849.0
More Art, Less Craft - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424893.0
Needlework - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424885.0
Occasions and Holidays - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424914.0
Paper Crafts, Scrapbooking & ATCs - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424910.0
Pottery, Ceramics, Polymer Clay - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424905.0
Purses, Bags, Wallets - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424887.0
Quilting - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424886.0
Reusing/Recycling/Recrafting - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424851.0
Toys, Dolls and Playthings - http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424852.0

Read more: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=424917.0#ixzz2bIaQss3Y

If the challenge is a bit overwhelming, then check out this month's Hoopla Along or our Newbie Craftalong, both are great ways to get your feet wet. Who knows, you might make a new best friend or learn a new crafty skill. 

No More Reality, PLEASE!

Yeah...I'm a little done with reality right now. I'm going to Pamtown and not coming out. Wanna come with me? I feel like I haven't devoted enough time to my blog lately and I am so sorry for that. Between my father being under the weather and having surgery and Lola Mae having problems from getting older, I just haven't been able to devote the time I wanted to. Don't you just hate when reality tries to control your life? 

Since taking care of a sick dad and sick little Lola, I have been stitching like crazy and reading a ton. What have I been reading...nothing special except, TRASHY ROMANCE NOVELS! Hey, it's the summer, which means trashy romance novels, don't judge. 

I am really having fun reading them and I prefer to go for the PG-13 romance. The X-rated ones just make me giggle too much. I have found that there is a certain formula to these novels, they break down like this:

City girl has crappy disrespectful boyfriend and for some reason they just broke up. She then decides to head to a small town because 1-someone wronged her family and she is getting property to make it right or 2-she wants to start a bakery or a wedding planning business in a small town because that's all she can afford. 

After she is settled she meets a very attractive man who is widowed and his wife at the time was having an affair, caring the child of her lover or the child is sick and the mother has left because she can't handle it. The man has a heart of gold around the rough edges. 

Boy and girl meet, they get into fights. She is independent but he loves that. She loves that he is a caring dad/cares about animals. 

They finally give into their lust and live happily ever after. All problems solved and she ends up pregnant with his child. The end. 

I am not making fun of this formula, it works and I love it! I love it so much that I will sit and read a book in one day. I think they are very sweet books.  

Some of my favorite authors right now are Lori Wilde and Debbie Macomber. Yes, these authors make quick easy cheesy books but they also restore our faith in romance and love. You want to see the couple fall in love at the end, you want the bad guy get what's coming to him and you want it tied up with a nice bow. I am a firm believer that we all need a little summer romance. 

Down By the Sea

I have been going swap crazy on Craftster. I am currently in a Hit the Beach swap. We had to make our partner something that was beach themed. Of course I decided to make a wreath. I was inspired by My Very Educated Mother .

I started with a dollar store swimming pool noodle. I taped it up to make a wreath form.

For the ocean (or the sky) I used chunky blue yarn and for the sand I used burlap. I added some shells and there ya have it, a beach wreath.

For my small item. I decided to do a sea glass vase/jar and fill it with gummy sharks. The paint came out a little darker than I wanted and I really wish the directions told you for a completely smooth finish you really need more coats or that it take 4 days for it to dry and then bake. I'm still pretty happy with it and may play with other shades.

Now on to the next swap....Sideshows, Halloween and Make a Friend. Yahoo for crafty goodness!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Someone once told me that idle hands are the devil's workshop. If that's the case, I've got nothing to worry about because I have been super duper busy.

First, I just finished up another Craftster Quickie. This time I made corn starch clay. It was pretty cool! I love the white porcelain look of it. 

Second, I've been stitching like a mad woman. I've been picking little projects that I can do while watching movies or TV.

First, a group of cuties with pups!






Yep, I was totally singing the Wonder Woman theme when I did this one last night.



If that wasn't enough, I had to do a beach scene to get me in the mood for summer!







Whew! June was way too busy! I need a vacation! Who am I kidding, stitching and crafting are my vacation! 

Cool Stitching

Over the weekend the heat was a little more than the pups could take so instead of worshiping the sun gods, I stayed inside with the A/C blowing on me, stitching, while Lola, Pete and Jujube crashed around me. I decided to watch a few shows I had on my Amazon Prime watchlist. 

The first show was London Hospital. Such a great series. Unfortunately, BBC only filmed 2 season. Boo on that! The series is set during the industrial revolution in London. It centers around the famous London Hospital. Be warned! This show can be gory! It depicts the era with gritty realism. The stories are based on newspaper clippings, journals and hospital records. At the end of each episode they give you a bit more information about the history of the story. 

After watching London Hospital, I needed something a bit lighter, so I went with Sherlock. Yes, I know...I'm late to the party about this one. Can I just say, BRILLIANT! Love this series and I can't wait for the next season. The story is set in modern London with the usual suspects, Sherlock Holmes, Watson and Moriarty playing games, creating and solving crimes. Steven Moffit of Dr. Who fame has his hands all over this series, which makes for excellent writing and producing. 

What are you catching up on this summer? Any series that you are just dying over that I need to see? There are a lot of hot days and a lot of stitching ahead of me. 

Scrappy Dog Sunday

Last Christmas a friend of mine sent me a great dog treat recipe. Great because it was so simple! Having three dogs can pose a few problems, one being that each one has a different food thing going on. These treats perfect for all three. These treats are great for older dogs because they are slightly soft.  

Peanut Butter Dog Crackers
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons oil

• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and form a dough ball

• Roll out dough with rolling pin and cut into small bites. I have used small cookie cutters before but they really were too big for my dogs. I also didn't make them too thick so they could chew them. Cut them do your dog's needs. 

• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes. 
• Cool on rack
• I put a little baggie full next to the door and freeze the rest. They can last in the freezer for about 6 months. 

A few things:
I tried it with natural peanut butter. It was okay but I might reduce the oil by about 1/2 next time if I use the natural stuff

I used regular flour but if your dog has an allergy, you can certainly try different ones and maybe adjust the cooking time.

You can put these treats on a baking sheet pretty close to eachother. They do not spread. On a big cookie sheet I used about half of the dough.

As you can see, these treats are so good, they even brought the elusive Emo Jujube out of her natural cave habitat.

Scrappy Dog Sunday

Having an older dog is a mix of emotions. You are happy because the dog is trained (well, mostly in our case), well behaved and laid back. You are sad because you know that the time you have with them is limited. I guess you know that about all pets and people but it seems to resonate more when you can see the change come over your best friend in such a short amount of time.

Lola seemed to be doing a lot better for the past week and then over the weekend slowed down again. Little things seem to take a lot out of her. Just giving her a bath will put her down for the rest of the day. We also noticed that her eye pressure is back up, hopefully not as bad as before but it is slowing her down.

On the upside, a friend sent us a doggy stroller so we can take her out on longer walks with Jujube and Pete and she likes to sit in it next to me while I lay out in the sun. Jujube loves it so she can get away from her stinky brother.

We take her back to the vet tomorrow for a checkup. I know it will take so much out of her and she will be down for a day or two but we will get more information about her eye.

Another great thing is that the urinary tract infection looks as if it has cleared up and we are having no more night accidents.

Don't get me wrong, Lola is still a spitfire. She is still barking at the crows, runs around with her brother and gives Jujube baths. She is eating, although extremely picky. She loves trying to play with Pete at 6 in the morning and runs around the house. The recovery time is a lot longer but I don't think she is willing to give up yet and we aren't either. We adjust our lives to fit her needs right now and really, the adjustments are that extreme at all. We might wake up a little earlier, have to make her food for her and be a little be more gentle but it is worth it.

Her quality of life is still good and she plans on harassing us every chance she gets cause that's what Lolas do.

Winner and Other Stitchy Goodness

Big huge honking thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. The winner is....(drum roll, please)

Poppy (xperimentl)!!!!!!

Yahoo! Way to go! Never fret, my favorite peeps, there will be other giveaways, just around the corner! 

Now, are you ready for some stitchy goodness? I have been crazy busy stitching up tea towels for a swap with my friend Helen. 

And sticking with the cake theme...

I also stitched this glamour puss up for the Hoopla Along on Craftster but she got ruined! I used quilter's wax to tame the metallic thread, forgot about it and ironed. The wax melted and bled the ink everywhere! WAHHHHH! 

I can't wait to show you what else I have been working on-so many fun summer projects! Stay tune! 

Your Name in Lights

Are you looking for something a little different to give your pop for Father's Day? Well, look no further...Put his name up in lights with this super easy Craftster Quickie.

These faux marquee lights were so easy and turned out awesome! I want to light my whole house up with them.

Scrappy Dog Sunday

What do you do when your dog begins getting older? You begin to notice little things about them, they aren't as quick on the draw, it takes them a little time to get up and down and their eye sight begins to fade. This week it became unbelievably clear that Lola Mae is old. 

We had noticed a few weeks ago that Lola was drinking a tremendous amount of water and  began to use the bathroom in her sleep. Our first thought was that she had diabetes and then we thought that it was her age. We took her to the vet and they did a series of test. We were so happy to find out that she wasn't diabetic. We did find out that she had two urinary tract infections and her kidneys were slightly elevated. Our awesome vet put her on some antibiotics and Lola was on her way...until last week. 

Lola's eye began weeping and she was shutting it. She has cataracts in that eye and the doctor said she was blind, just in the one eye. At the same time, her ear got an infection. We took her in again and found out that she has glaucoma. Glaucoma is very painful for dogs and can lead to the eye being removed. Besides having glaucoma, she had an eye infection. She was now fighting off four infections. We again were given meds. This time, the vet gave us the serious talk about Lola not being around much longer. We asked what we could do more for her and the vet's response was, "just love her." The vet said that she will continue, along with us, to make sure Lola is comfortable and given great care but once her quality of life is less, than we will discuss options. 

For the past week, I have done nothing but go between being numb and crying. Finally, yesterday, I decided I have to "just love her." I have to enjoy my time that I have with her now. To play gently with her, alter our walks, give her little special treats and snuggle more. 

Loving and caring for older dogs is a challenge but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It makes me cherish every day, every second with them a little more. 

Quilting on the Go

I am so excited about the new quilting book, Quilting on the Go by Jessica Alexandrakis. Who knew you could quilt on the go? I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time! 

Quilting on the Go offers several projects you can literally do on the go. It is a wonderful resource for portable patchwork. The book offers step-by-step instructions and patterns for 20 projects. 

I am not a quilter but this book makes it so easy that even I can do it! No kidding! Easy to follow steps, great pictures, awesome tips. 

The book will not be available for purchase until June 11th but guess what...thanks to the awesome people at Potter Craft and Crown Publishing,  I have an advance copy and I want to give it to you! Yep, you, cute face! 

Here's what you need to do, leave a comment and tell me your summer plans. That's it. Just one comment per person, please. The winner will be announced next Thursday, June 6th. 

We Did It!

A very big huge honking thanks to everyone who donated to the heart walk. OMP and I hit our goal and even got a bit more!

There were so many people there! Everyone in the crowd was super upbeat and supportive.

I am so glad that we did the walk and I plan on doing it next year. The best part of the walk was that I had OMP with me! He is my inspiration.

Scrappy Mother's Day

Lola is such a good mama to Jujube. They have never been apart.

From the time Jujube was a baby...



To adulthood...



I take great comfort in my Golden Girls...


And Pete.


Scrappy Mother's Day to all the scrappy moms out there.

Queen of Everything

Mother's Day is this weekend but you still have time to show your mom that she is the queen of everything by making these AWESOME crowns. I think I need to make one for myself and for the pups, cause really, they are the queens of everything, and then some...

SCORE!

I was lucky enough to participate in Creative Breathing's decorative box swap. My partner was Shara from MonkeyBox. Oh man! Did she ever spoil me! Check out all the goodies!

Here's the box I made her. I forgot to take a picture of all the goodies inside.

Thanks to Creative Breathing and to Monkeybox for making this such an awesome swap.

Winner Winner! Chicken Dinner

Okay, so not a chicken dinner but an awesome book! Big huge honking congrats to I SEW CUTE for winning Aimee Ray's new book!

Thanks to everyone who started following me on Twitter and guess what-there will be exclusive twitter contests to come, cause it's fun and because I need to clean out my stash of floss and patterns.

Stitchy, Stitchy, Stitchy...

I have been stitching like crazy lately and I couldn't be happier. 

 I decided to treat myself a few months ago and bought Little Stitches by Aneela Hoey. Best book EVAH!

Do you recognize these little girls? They are the same ones that she uses in her fabric designs. Gah, I can't stand the cuteness.






And this little cutie is from the Aimee Ray book I am giving away if you follow me on twitter. This was the first time I had made a little doll. I am definitely hooked!



What are you working on right now? Stitching anything great? Working in the garden?


Don't forget to follow me on twitter for your chance to win Aimee's newest book.

Tweet! Tweet!

Know what we need? A giveaway. 

Have you checked out Aimee Ray's newest book, Doodle Stitching, Embroidery & Beyond? Want to win it? Well....follow me over on twitter and get a chance to win that awesome book! 

 Click THIS SPOT to enter/follow me.

The winner will be announced Wednesday April 24th.

Humanity

Our thoughts and Prayers are with you. Don't ever lose faith in humanity.

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." 

-Ecclesiastes 4:12

Only 35 More Days!

Only 35 more days until the heart walk. Have you donated yet? Donate with a friend or a group!

Big huge honking thanks to those who have donated. You guys rock my socks!

Click on THIS link and donate!