Look at what I made!!!

Whew, I really thought things would slow down after the kids got out of school, but NO WAY!! Just busy with the usual stuff, running errands, doctor appointment, house cleaning, gardening, not to mention taking the kids to camp everyday. This is my first entry for June -- bad me!!

I have managed to get two stitching projects completed and they are in the mail on the way to their new homes. These are the two primitive designs from The Needle's Content ta ht finished into ornaments. They are part of a Swap-bot exchange that I join. The overall finishing on both could be better. Really need to work on my technique. I have made some progress on my Gazette 94 SAL, but it is still a slow moving train especially now that I have an entire section to frog later today. BooHoo!!!




















I also made some altered mini-composition books for a Card-Maker exchange. Now this was lots of fun. Instead of covering the books with designer paper I cover them with Washi paper. So what is Washi paper? It is handmade papers from Japan that are absolutely beautiful. I lived in Japan for eight years and managed to collect lots of the papers. I left there 15 years ago and I still have a few papers left so I thought this would be a great way to use them up. In the past I have covered all kids of things with Washi, eggs, boxes, cards, etc. I kept the embellishment very simple on the notebooks so they can be used. Some folks, in my opinion, have a tendency to over embellish making the book almost unusable because it has so much stuff on the cover that the book is difficult to keep in your purse without something falling off or getting hung up. Anyway, I think you get my point.




Have great day!!

See ya!


CJ

And the Winner is .....

Hi Everyone -
I had 24 comments left requesting to be considered for the fabric drawing. I got everything in order this morning and loaded it in Random.org. The results are below.

Search RANDOM.ORG
True Random Number Service
List Randomizer
There were 24 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
6. Delphyne
16. Kim
21. Donna
11. Nancy V
5. Linda
12. GoldenAngelsWorks
10. Kakie48
1. shutterbug
8. Lee
2. Beth
19. Teresa Brooks
7. Renee G.
4. Pirjo
18. Terry
14. Julie
17. Cindy F.
23. cpullum
24. Mylene
13. Sherry
20. Robyn in Oz
9. DebbieSFL
15. CindyMae
3. Barbara
22. Stitchinowl
Timestamp: 2009-05-27 14:16:48 UTC

Congrats to Delphyne, who just happens to live in Texas--how cool is that. So Delphyne please send me you address so I can get this package in the mail.

I apologize for not posting the results earlier but this is the last week of school and PTA has me jumping.

Addendum: I neglected to thank all of you that stopped by and commented on my blog. I love reading your comments and truly appreciate your visits.

See ya!!

CJ

I have a stitching update, plus giveaway!!!

Woohoo!! I am finally posting a stitching update, it is about time. Have I been stitching? I most certainly have, but not as much as I need too. Since it is so close to school ending I have been busy with all the end of year activities. It also does not help that I have been consumed with making cards--that is for another post.
So here goes.

Stitching
I have completed one project for a Swap-Bot exchange and nearly finished another. These two project are for the Cross Stitch Across the World, part 5. The theme is animals this time around, last month it was flowers. The patterns are from The Needle's Content floss tag group, I thought they would be perfect for this exchange. They are stitched on 28ct Monaco using DMC and WDW floss.

I will also be finishing off one of the Christmas trees I stitched earlier this year for a CSE exchange. I have worked some on the Blue Ribbon Design SAL, photo is below. My Gazette94 SAL is a slow moving for now, I need to get it back into my weekly "stitch while watching TV" rotation.

I have dropped out of a couple of stitching groups and joined Cross Stitch Addition and a Biscornu swap group that is on Yahoo Groups but swaps through Swap-Bot--go figure. Look forward to joining in on some of their exchanges and games in the upcoming months.

Giveaway
Many moons ago I said I was going to clean out my box of fabric and have a giveaway. It is done. This stuff needs a new home. I am giving it away in one chunk. There are several pieces in varying sizes, mostly 14ct Aida, some 18ct, some linen, and some stuff that looks like burlap. There is black, blue, pink, green, yellow, white, red, brown, etc, etc. So if you are interested please leave a comment and I will pick the recipient next Tuesday after I return from a visit to Dallas. I am happy to pay for the postage.

and Finally
I received this award from Susie, the stitching mad mum. It was so sweet of her to send this to me. Now I want to pass it on to a few people that I admire.

Meari - Cause I just cannot make it through a Monday without her updates.
Kristina - Great card maker and very inspiring. My oldest and I lover to watch her "how to" videos. It is a great way to have some mommy/daughter time.

I love and read many more blogs but these two are my absolute favorites at the moment. Actually, Meari's blog is an addiction for me and many others.


So I must leave you to empty the dryer.

See ya!!

CJ

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #5

This week I did something that I have never done before, I participated in a card color challenge. This challenge was issued by Dawn on her "My Favorite Things" blog. I liked the colors she chose so I decided what the heck and I came up with two cards. So take a look and tell me what you think. Here is the first one, now granted my photo leaves much to be desired but the colors are right for this challenge. I am pleased with the final product, now I need to try to post this to Dawn's blog.

Paper: Stampin Up and Bo Bunny Press
Stamps: SU Much Appreciated and Polka Dot Punches
Ink: SU Rose Red
Punch: SU Scalloped Oval
Other Stuff: CK Pearl and SU Dimensionals


See ya!!

CJ

Can May be just around the corner??

Well, I thought tomorrow is the last day of April and I have only posted once this month, seems to be the norm for me lately so I better get busy. As usual things are a little nutty in our house, as I am sure they are the same for many of you that have children, work, husbands and/or hobbies, not to mention those of you going to school . How do we do it? I wish I knew. So let tell you what is going on.

Stitching Update

I have had two, yes I said two, finishes. Mind you they were small, but finishes none the less. Not only were they stitched they were also assembled for presentation. One is a floss tag and the other a coaster. I loved the way the coaster looked so much, I sent a copy of the pattern (a freebie) and two coasters to my CSE partner for the "Kitted Up Freebie" exchange. The Floss Tag pattern came from Miss T's blog, stitched on 16ct Ivory Aida using a multi colored floss from Threadworx. I recently discovered Miss T's blog, she has many great, free designs that are simple to stitch. Unfortunately, I failed to photograph my finish prior to sending it off to my Swap-Bot partner. Sorry!! As for the coaster it was stitched on 16ct Aida using DMC floss. I forgot where I got the pattern but it is an on-line freebie of three solid color flowers and a bee. Very cute. No photo it is on it's way to Finland. Must do better about taking photos of my work beofre I ship it off. As for my two SAL's I have made progress on both, not as much as I would like, but they are coming along.

On a somewhat stitching related note, I won week #8 of the CSE NASCAR Game. My driver Mark Martin won that race and he started at the pole--way to dominate Old Man!!!

More somewhat stitching news, Beth is going to Ocean City, Maryland for a stitching retreat. Needless to say I am very envious, Ocean City was one of my teenage stomping grounds many moons ago. She has promised to eat some Thrasher Fries with vinegar for me as well as take a picture of herself in the act of eating the fries. How sweet of her to do that for me.

Paper Crafts

I have made many cards this month and plan to make more. The idea is to make monogrammed card sets for each of my kids teachers. That will be about seven sets total so I need to get to work on them. Each set will have 6 different cards using the same papers and monogram.

I have also joined some Card Maker Magazine swaps for May. The first cards I have to make are Cris-Cross cards. I will let you know how that goes.


Swap-Bot

I have been involved with Swap-Bot for a few months now and I am really enjoying it. I have participated in several Tea swaps, Blank Note Card and Handmade Card swaps, one Cross Stitch swap (which involve the two projects listed above) and two Chocolate swaps. Lots of fun. You should check it out.

Paperback Swap

I have to thank Vickie for sharing info about Paperback Swap and introducing me to Elaine Viets. I am on the third book in her "Dead End Job" series. It is a fun series to read and I love the way the characters are carried over in each book, especially the 76 year old landlady with purple shorts and brightly painted toenails. Thanks Vickie!!!

Now speaking of paperback swaps, my neighbor has invited me to participate in a private book swap. So I am looking for interested folks to send my invites too. The deal is you only send one book to the person identified in the letter. Then you send six copies of the letter with one to your friends. I plan to try it out, I figure if I don' like the book it will go onto my Paperback Swap list for give away or in my garage sale pile. If you would like to join me just send me a note with your e-mail so we can exchange more details.

Anyhow, have a good evening.

See ya!!

CJ

Another Friday Update!!

Hello April!!! I will be soooo glad when school is out for summer, only 8 weeks to go. I have been busy with PTA, School Health Activities, subbing, sickness, etc. I am glad that April is here, now I can think about putting out some flowers to pretty up my yard. Leaning towards making a small butterfly garden in the back for the kids to enjoy. We seem to have lots of butterflies in North Texas so I might as well invite them to visit us.


Stitching Update
I have been stitching allot. So much that I feel I am losing control of my projects. I managed to finish my PS Snowman exchange after having to re-stitch the entire piece. Really like the way the second ended up and I think my exchange partner liked it as well. It is the second PS winter themed piece that I have stitched on hand dyed blue 16ct Aida called Royalty from Enchanted Fabrics. The picture does not do it justice, it is really cute with the blue background. I either need a better camera or some basic photography lessons. Perhaps next time I will try hubby's camera.

Prairie Schooler Santas and Snowmen Booklet #151

This is the original snowman I stitched with errors. Even though it looks okay, there are mistakes in it and I will not send something with noticeable stitching errors. I was able to save it just need to finish it off with some ribbon so it can be an ornament for my tree this year. It is stitched on 14ct ivory Aida with DMC floss.

My Blue Ribbon Design SAL, "Stop and Stitch the Flowers" is coming along very nicely. It is a fun project and I really love the colors. It will hang in my kitchen once it is finished.




Finally started stitching the Gazette 94 SAL, after struggling with material color and changing the floss colors three times before settling for a medium blue and pink on hand-dyed Aida. Needless to say I am far behind on this project and I need a few, actually several, late nights up stitching to catch up.

This is a freebie from Gazette 94 that I finished while visiting my MIL during Spring Break with my three kiddos. I was able to get lots of stitching done at her house and it was quit enjoyable. I plan to finish this as a flatfold. It is stitched on 28ct hand dyed Monaco call Blood Moon. I used DMC #500 floss and I love it.


I am also stitching some Floss Tags with a simple flower design for an upcoming Swap-Bot exchange. One one of my exchange partners is a fellow stitcher from the Chatty Stitching Exchangers group on Yahoo. How funny is that, I am excited to be sending her something that I have made. Hope to have the stitching done this weekend, so I can spend next finishing them up and mailing them off to their new homes.

Card Making

I have been making cards for Swap-Bot exchanges. Hope you like what I have done so far. I even covered a chocolate bar and decorated some tea bags with paper for another exchange. It looks much nicer to open a packet with a little decoration than a just a simple bar of chocolate and a card.

See ya!!

CJ

Long Time, No Post -- Well Not Really

My last post was on 27 Feb almost one month ago. I am on the computer daily, but I just can't manage to take the time to post. Sorry!!!! I am sure many of you with kids, jobs, husbands an spring fever know how time can just slip away from you. Don't even mention the laundry that continues to fall out of the sky. That is what I am doing at this very moment (which happens to be 5am) -- Laundry!!!

I have been busy, I joined swap-bot, lots of fun. The swaps I have joined so far have gone well. I have four more coming up in the next few weeks. If you are interested in swapping I highly recommend it. I have swapped notecards and tea so far. Upcoming are handmade cards, small cross stitch and chocolate. I am sending my handmade cards to Australia and South Africa -- how cool is that.

So far I have two stitching finishes and an update for the month but I cannot find my camera since coming home from my MIL. Took the kids to see her during Spring Break. I am still unpacking I am sure it is in one of my bags. I hate to unpack, that is the last thing I want to do when I get home, so it takes me days and days to get it done. Yuk!!

Here is something I found out last week which I thought was really "wow, what a coincidence". My BFF is on Facebook (as well as my hubby), I refuse to Facebook -- I like my privacy. Anyway, my BFF has been renewing friendships with many of our old HS classmates -- we graduated in 1980. One person who contacted her was the guy who took me to the Senior Prom. Mind you we were not dating, just two kids with no date and our mutual friends wanted us to be there so, well you can figure the rest out for yourself. Anyway, she found out that he and his wife have two children adopted from China, so now you ask what is the big deal. I have three kids adopted from China. You may be thinking "Okay" and I am thinking WOW. Hopefully, we can get together via e-mail and exchange adoption stories. I love hearing adoption stories, it is a great way to bring people together. That was my bit of excitement last week.

Anyway that is it for me, I am subbing today so off to the shower. Hopefully I will have some pictures for you later this week. Wish me luck on the search to find my camera.

See ya!!

CJ