Happy 2010!!

This is my first post for 2010 and the month is almost over. My life just gets in the way of my posting. I really should try to find more time to post or come up with a better system. On the home front, the family is good although hubby is a little disappointed with the Cowboys. Oh well!!

Stitching Update

Actually did a good bit of stitching this week. I have finished the grid for Blue Ribbon Design Stop and Smell the Flowers. I have one letter left to stitch on my Granny ornament, and I have almost finished a biscornu for an upcoming exchange. I received a Christmas packet from Pirjo for an ornament exchange we had on CSE. He stitching is superior as always and I just adore how she finishes her pieces. I am so lucky to have two ornaments from her now. She sent some metallic thread, a piece of hand dyed fabric and the snowman ornament with a sweet card.

2010 reading Olympics

I finished Hey Diddle, Diddle the Corpse and the Fiddle by Fran Rizer on 8 Jan and started Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Thus far it is slow going in the new book, I am only on chapter three--that is what I get for only reading in bed.

Paper Crafts

Card making seems to be taking over my life. I am going to stop getting feeds and just checking for updates on my blog roll. It is just to tempting to start something new or buy more stash when I can read about it in e-mail. I entered a card in the Card Maker Weekly Challenge. This the category is Monochromatic. My card is shades of yellow. I used all Stampin Up! materials, even the button is made out of paper.

During the holidays I made Gift Tags and Gift Card holders for exchanges on Card Swap. The card holders and tags that I got back were fabulous and they came in very handy. I used up all the tags for my kids Christmas gifts. I managed to save a few to copy for next year. Here are pictures of my Gift Tags -- I had to make a dozen. They are folder like a match book with white paper inside for a note or sentiment.

I had to make six Gift Cards and they were pretty ordinary, but I got back some really nice ones. Unfortunately, they are all gone and I did not take any pictures of them. Bad me!! Here is a shot of some that I made. I used a pinwheel design that I got from Barb.

Recently, I started to cover some old bird houses with the designer papers I have collected and I am really pleased with the outcome. I got the idea from a card Maker magazine. So far I have two finished. One I kept for myself the other was a present for my baby girls teacher. The plan is to display them in my kitchen above the cabinets with greenery and lights. This is a picture of the one I kept. The box it is sitting on is also covered with paper. It is Washi paper from Japan, I have had that paper for many years and I love working with it.

Basket Weaving

Last week my friend and basket weaving mentor Sue came up and we did a little weaving. I was able to finish the trim on my Cherokee Market basket and weave the Ladybug kit I had bought last October. We plan to do it again on Tuesday this week. Making baskets leaves me with a really "green" feeling. These baskets will last almost forever, if they ever get tossed out they will not harm the environment. I have baskets around that I weaved over 20 years ago and I still use them today. I use the market basket to carry my weaving tools and the other is a gift. They are not perfect but I love them and they look even better in person.

For Christmas I made a few Nativity baskets for family members. Here is a picture of one.

Here's wishing all of you a very happy and healthy 2010. Thanks for stopping by I really appreciate all your comments.


See ya!!

CJ