Long weekend means lots of crafting!

Lots of crafting done this past weekend!

Some Mizzou things for my etsy shop….

A wreath makeover….

A really pretty crochet flower pin…

Some bright and cherry Jack-O-Lantern pins…

A cute little Halloween sweater for the cat…

Some time to take some pictures…I am loving the cooler temperatures and noticed the orange/red leaves on this tree for the first time this year!  Guess it is close to fall! 

Ellen

Random stuff

Sitting outside this evening talking on the phone with my mom (which is where I have to go to talk on my cell phone, thanks so much AT&T!), I took a few deck scenery pictures.  Summer has been really hard on my landscaping/plants/willingness to do much out there.

Loving my flying pigs…

And how the water accumulates on big leaves after even a small rain…

I went to an auction in town this weekend and after I parked, I walked by this bush on the way to the action!  I have never seen a bush like this.  The berries are a light purple and they look like those Styrofoam flowers you buy in the craft store. 

The bush was really interesting…just never have seen one like it ever!  If anyone knows the name of this, I would love to hear about it!

And yes, I shamelessly photographed it with my cell! 

And here’s my pooch Rachel Manatee…I caught a face picture of her, she is barking here, but you can see her gray muzzle and her gray underbelly.  She is after all, 77 people years old!

I’ve got this dorm fridge where my big fridge used to be…not liking that very much, but hopefully I am getting someone out here Monday or Tuesday to look at the fridge to see if it is fixable.  I am praying that it is repairable…it just quit cooling and all the food in the freezer and fridge was lost!  Seems like it is always something!

This book is why I didn’t get much else done this weekend.  I started reading it Friday night and basically couldn’t put it down!  I finished it this afternoon, wonderful book.  Can’t wait to see the movie!

This is one of my next projects I am working on…not going to tell you any more, but hopefully next weekend I will have more to show!

These ratty song books I found at the auction, someone had left them on a table and they were going to throw them away, so, I snagged them!  I remember singing this song, Old Folks At Home, in high school music class.  I will be using them for crafts of course, since I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket!!

Ellen

My Tuesday {Ten}

Surprise lilies make a great bouquet.  I love using the old Ball jar for a vase.  When you get up close you can see a touch of blue/purple on the end of the petals.  Never noticed that before.

The Rose of Sharon bush has bloomed like crazy this summer…my cub scout den planted it probably 8 or 9 years ago.  That was such a fun project, they all got really dirty and loved it!

Queen Anne’s Lace is one of my favorites…

I am starting to work on some projects for a craft show this fall.

Pins and pumpkins…

I took this on a dare from my sister and my mom.  It was a Christmas wreath covered with some really gruesome white carnations and some red berries and a hideous green ribbon that was polyester.   So I am going to try to make some thing out of the 1970s craft disaster!

Trying to get my dog Rachel to look at the camera, she instead chose to look at my feet…but the cat kept looking at me.  Friday we took Rachel out to the farm (my brother and sister in law’s house).  She always rides in the back seat and sticks her head out the window and barks all the way there.  We usually have the windows half down and she has never acted like she was going to jump…well, Friday she jumped/fell out of the car while it was moving (only 35 mph thankfully).  She was fine (except for some abrasions on her underbelly) but looked so confused…and the dog she was barking at ran back to his porch and stayed there.  No more barking from Rachel the rest of the way.  From now on those windows are more than half up!

This is Frosty, the wonder cat…he used to be an indoor cat and now is an indoor/outdoor cat.  He always has the deer in the headlights look when he is outside.  Occasionally he climbs a tree and can’t figure out how to get down.

The little swing my son made when he was little…he wanted a swing but we really didn’t have much of a place to hang a swing.  He spent many hours in that swing.

Ellen

Tuesday {Ten}

School starts Thursday for Sam my son and he loves the Yankees and I do too by default.  The Yanks were playing the KC Royals Monday night and Tuesday and Wednesday too, so I surprised Sam with tickets to Monday’s game.  August games can be miserable temperature wise, but this was a 7pm game.  We got there a few hours early to watch the Yankees warm up…Jeter and Cano leaving the field here…

We watched Teixeira hit a few practice balls out of the park. 

When the Royals came out we saw Melky Cabrera come out and hug Jeter and Cano…Melky was on the Yankees last year…and got traded to the Royals, so it was funny to see them on opposite teams.

We couldn’t have had a more perfect night…cool in the upper 60s, forecast was for rain, but we had sunshine until dark, then we had a beautiful full moon facing us. 

And the best part is that Mariano Rivera, AKA Mo or the Sandman, closed the game out!  We have seen three other Yankees games, but had never seen Mariano close.  He is incredible!  Loved to watch him pitch and to see the three consecutive outs!

Wow, that’s all I have to say!  I could watch this guy pitch all day.

Funny thing, I have never been too much of a baseball fan, but now don’t miss a Yankees game! My son has always been a big Yankees fan(atic), so I just became one too!  I have been to two Cardinals games and was miserable both times—one it was 105 degrees, afternoon game with seats in the sun (did I mention I was wearing a knee length denim dress?) and the other game it was 42 degrees with seats in the shade.

Being uncomfortable to watch the Yankees though is no big deal!  Now I am starting to understand those die hard Cards fans! 

Regrettably I didn’t get any pics of Sam and I together, but it was great spending time with Sam and talking with him during the game (much to his distress!).   Of course, he slept the 1 1/2 hours there and back!

Ellen

Pillow Frenzy!

I got in the mood this past weekend….for sewing!  I have not been feeling well for the past few months.  I had a pinched nerve in my cervical spine which made it painful for me to do almost anything with my arms.  I couldn’t hold them away from my body for any period of time without hurting pretty bad (think ironing, cutting fabric, sewing, knitting, crocheting, driving, gardening, well, you get the idea!)

So anyway, the good news is that I got that little problem fixed a few weeks ago and so now I am as good as new!  It’s amazing what those docs can do these days!  I think pretty soon they will be doing open heart surgery through the drive thru!

So, back to the topic of this post!  I had a few ideas in line for some pillows! 

The inspiration from this Keep Calm and Carry On pillow came from this post.   I just can’t tell you how easy this is…you will just have to try it out for yourself. 

I made the knife edges (not sure if that is what the rest of the world calls it, but that is what I call it!) and kept the design simple.  I had printed the saying on a 8.5 x 11” piece of drop cloth so I framed that piece with some grosgrain ribbon with mitered corners! 

Even the back opening looks great on this one.  Really, drop cloth fabric is so easy to sew!  Pardon my pink ginormous shoes in the background!

I am pretty proud of this puppy! 

My second pillow project I made from fabric leftovers from my corkboard makeover.  I had just enough fabric for this 16 inch pillow!

It’s made the same way as the Keep Calm pillow, knife edges, and opening in the back that the pillow just slides into.

I love the sharp looking edges!  And it is the perfect addition to my bedroom makeover too!

It looks great too with my refinished chair…

Love, love, love this bird on a branch fabric!

I am linking to these great parties!

I hope you are having a great week!

Ellen