First Finish of 2011

WooHoo!!!  I have finished a stitching project for 2011 and it is still January--boy, I am on a roll.  This is a Brush Stroke Butterfly stitched in shades of purple and blue on 14ct white aida for the Quilts for Older Children and Adults Yahoo Group.  Tomorrow this will be sent off to Pennsylvania to be included in a quilt.  Now I just need to finish my two kitties.   This is the first time I have scanned stitching into the PC vice take a photo.  Not sure if I like the scan.  Well at least I can put this in the finish column.

See ya!!

Cj

Crazy January Challenge 2011 - Project #9

Here it is!! Project #9.  This is a name ornament for my son.  I am stitching it on 16ct white aida with Carrie's Creation Thread called Holly Days.  This will also require lots of beads when the stitching is finished, hum--not sure what color to use at this point.

See ya!!

CJ

Crazy January Challenge 2011 - Project #8

Number 8 was not originally on my list but as I viewed other blogs participating in this challenge I found it difficult to resist this free pattern.  I really have an affinity to stitching word trees so I decided to go ahead and stitch up Holiday Spirit by Robin Shappell.  It is a lovely little tree that I am stitching in green and red on oatmeal aida.

Enjoy!!

CJ

Crazy January Challenge 2011 - Project #4

This is an Armadillo from Aury.  I have had this pattern for several years and I am finally getting around to stitching it up.  It will be for my son, he has a fascination with animals.  This is being stitched on 14 count hand dyed fabric from  Enchanted Fabrics and Cafe Ole floss from Carrie's Creation Threads.  

Enjoy.

See ya!!

CJ

Crazy January Challenge 2011 - Project #3

I am a day late posting my third project.  IT is "The Red Noel Ornament" by Maryse DuPont of Les Grilles de Maryse.  It is in the November 2008 edition of The Gift of Stitching.  It was not on my original stitching list but I thought if I am going to get any of these projects done they need to be fairly small since I do have a of UFOs and some charity stitching to do as well.  I decided to turn this around a bit instead of stitching red on white I am stitching cream colored floss (DMC 543) onto hand dyed 16 count aida, called Blood Moon from Enchanted Fabrics. 

Enjoy.

See ya!!

CJ

Crazy January Challenge 2011 - Project #2

Here is my second project a Name Flake from VeeandCo.  I plan to finish this into some type of block.  I am stitching this on pink 32 count even weave using thread from Carries Creation Threads called Berry Swirl.  I will add beads, but not sure what color,  perhaps a dark pink. 

Unfortunately, Blogger is being a pain and I cannot upload my picture.  I will have to give it a try later.  

See ya!!

CJ

FYI - We had mountain lion sightings in our neighborhood over the last week.  I guess I need to keep the dogs in--scary!!

July Stitching Update

Can you believe it!!  July is here.  We have six more weeks of summer vacation then we are back to school in Texas.  Whew, the time has flown by.  The my older kids have already attended Science Camp at River Bend Nature Center and the baby went to Camp Noah, a camp for learning disabled kids for a week.  Later this month we have soccer camp and art camp at the Kemp Center for the Arts.  Then dad and I are taking the oldest two to Iowa for the 50th anniversary of Knoxville Nationals Sprint Car Race to see our favorite driver and friend Joey Saldana. That should be a great trip and adventure since this is our first time to Iowa.  We will be staying in Pella, little town that is known for its Dutch Heritage and as the boyhood home of Wyatt Earp. 

Stitching Update

I have been stitching quite a bit and really enjoying it. I do most of my stitching while waiting for my daughter during her therapy sessons--it is a good way to pass the time.   I would have to say that July has been a good stitching month for me.  It was slow getting to this point but I am making up for lost time.  In early June I completed a biscornu for Pirjo in Finland as part of a swap-bot exchange, sorry no photo.  Here is some other things I have stitched with photos.

This is a piece I stitched for my son's room.  It's a Fourth of July freebie from Aury's blog.  I love her designs and she is so generous with her freebies.  Thanks Aury!!  I stitched this up with DMC Varigated floss and white DMC on 18 count aida from Enchanted Fabrics. 

This design is from the Needles Content, stitched on linen with WDW Pink Champagne.  It will be finished into a floss tag/thread holder for an exchange.

This is part of an Angel SAL for the charity stitching group Quilts for Older Children and Adults. The group leader selected the design and provided the floss.  I have two of these to do up, plan to take along on the Iowa trip since I can stitch in the car while hubby is driving.  


What else have I been doing?

I made cards for Operation Write Home. So far I have 40 cards ready, 60 to go.  I will mail the box when I get to 100--hopefully before we hit to road to Iowa. The pile on the left I made and the others I received from Swap-Bot exchanges. 

 I helped my oldest daughter and my son make candle holder baskets.  The orange and brown is my sons and the pastel is my daughters.  This was so much fun to do together. 

I put up Cherry, Peach, Apricot and Wild Plum Jam and 4 jars of Pickled Beets.  Don't they look yummy.  I now have so much jam in my cupboard not sure what to do with all of it.  Hubby thinks we need more--right!!

My DH and I went on another HCG diet course and I  managed to lose an additional 10 pounds.  So today I am 27 pounds lighter than I was in late Febuary this year.  Back to my active duty AF weight.  Plan to try this again early next year to drop another 10 pounds. Hurray for us!!

Last time I updated my blog I added a giveaway box.  Well, guess what?  I won one of the giveaways from Feathers In My Nest.  It is the Chessie and Me Liberty House Sampler.  What a lucky girl I am.   I have added a new giveaways from Donna and Bette.


See ya!
CJ

I'm am Stitching Again!!

Can I hear on big WOOHOO!! I started stitching again, only for an hour or so at a time and it is great.  My CTS is under control and so very happy.  I'm only wearing the brace a few times a week at night.  Wearing  the brace and losing weight has really helped my wrist/hand.  Hope it stays like this forever.  As for weight lose I am down 17 pounds.

Stitching Update

So what am I stitching?  I am playng catchup still working on BRD "Stop and Smell the Flowers".  I also plan to adapt a portion of this pattern into a biscornu for a challenge I am hosting on swap-bot.  Check it out perhaps a few of you would like to join me. 

I have some PIF's to finish up that will be going out in the next few weeks. Then I plan to host another one to support "Stand Up to Cancer".  Still working on the details for this one.  Speaking of cancer check out Nancy's blog.  Nancy is collecting "Think Pink" items from her friends and followers to raffle off on her blog in the month of October for Breast Cancer Awareness.  What a great cause, please stop by and give her a shout out of encouragement.

Papercrafts

Since I have been working full time for the past 7 weeks--3 more to go-- my card making/paper crafting has been put on the back burner so to speak.  I have a few swaps coming, I will try to take a few pictures to share with you as I get the cards made.  I am also considering hosting a card making party for OWH this summer.  To support OWH from now on, each time I make a card for an exchagne I will make at least on extra for OWH.   I think that sounds like a good plan.

Basket Weaving

I did make a new basket, actually two recently.  One is an oval gift basket accented with black and red, the other is an Easter basket.  I plan to make several more oval gift baskets for my kids teachers and one wine basket for a retiring teacher friend.  

Reading

Currently I am reading a cozy murder mytery called Crewel World (Needlecraft Mysteries, Book 1) that I picked up from paperbackswap.com.  I need to come up with a creative way to display what I have read, what I am reading and what I intend to read on thie blog.  If you have any ideas please send them my way.

Other Stuff

As for the family we are doing great.  DH is down 28 pounds--you didn't think I would go on a diet by myself now.  The kids are fine.  One is in the Miracle League and two are playing soccer.  My oldest DD will take some art lessons next month, turns out the kid loves to draw.  We are also looking at summer camp activities.  Can't believe we are only weeks away from summer break.  Thank goodness my job will be finished in 3 weeks and I can get some things done around the house before the kids are here 24/7.

Oh well, time for coffee.

BTW - Meari, love your new car. 

See ya!!

CJ

March Update - No stitching for me.

Busy, busy, busy!!  I started working full time 16 Feb filling a long term sub job in an elementary early intervention special ed class.  Totally forgot what it is like to work full time and this go around I am doing it with three kids in elementary school.  You should be at my house in the mornings, what a zoo!! Needless to say, my days are full with work and taking care of my family.  Thankfully, Spring Break is next week so I can catch up with all your great blogs and visit a bit with you all.

I am on a stitching hiatus due to a recent diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel.  What a bummer!!  That is okay, my hands are feeling better and I hope to start stitchng again in early April.  It is not fun to stitch when you can't feel your fingers -- very odd sensation.  It also bothers me when I drive, but I just can't seem to get our of my family bus driver duties.  I am hoping if I take care of myself and do as the doctors says I can prevent surgery. 

Today I am buying tickets to see Willie Nelson, he is coming to our little town in North Texas.  I am so excited to get to see him or as my husband likes to refer to him "The Red Headed Stranger".

Enjoy your Spring Break and don't forget to set you clocks back tonight.

See ya!!

Cj

It a Monday Update!!

Hello, Happy Valentine's and Happy Chinese New Year!!  All is well in our little patch of Texas.  We spent the weekend visiting my MIL in Amarillo.  It was so good to see her after missing Christmas with her due to the blizzard in North Texas and Oklahoma.  My hubby and I are not big on Valentine's, the most we exchange are cards.  I did make Valentine's for my kids teachers and classmates but that was it.  As for Chinese New Year we took the kids and MIL to eat Chinese, a family tradition.

Stitching Update

I managed to work on a few projects this week, but nothing to brag about except the lovely biscornu I recieved form JeanieBeanie in a Swap-Bot exchange.  It is so beautiful, I love the colors.  Thanks, Jeanie.

More Swap-Bot

I particpated in a Tea, Bookmark and Coaster Exchange and posted a picture of what I was sending in my last blog post.  Here is what I got from Renee in California.  A really cool handmade bookmark, three types of tea and two bar coasters.  I was very happy with this exchange. 

Basket Weaving

Here is a my latest basket weaving project.  This is a Friendship Basket.  I have made many of this basket with the ceramic base.  It is a very easy basket to weave and it makes a great gift.  This is the first one I have made with the Sunflower design.  This will be a teacher gift for the end of the school year.  Now I only need to make 5 more. 

Other Stuff
Tomorrow I start my temp sub job at a local elementary school. I am looking forward to working at this particular school and with this special group of kids.  Because of the job I have really backed off with my swaps and exchanges.  Plus I need a break there wer times I had a few too many crafty irons inthe fire, if you know what I mean. Not to mention we will be going see the Lippenzaner Stallions, a rodeo and Monster Jam next week.  With that schedule who has time to craft, thankfully I can stitch in the car--can't read in the car, I get violently ill, but I can stitch. Go figure!

Anyway, I am tired and the Olympic are on so I need to go. 

See ya!!

CJ

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

Merry Christmas!!

Whew! We made to another Christmas. It has been crazy busy around here with all the holiday stuff and just life in general. The last month or so I have been working, volunteering at school, baking, stitching, card making, basket weaving, and taking care of my family to include 10 doctor visits since early November. We had gutters installed on our house and hubby took me to the Dallas Cowboys/Washington Redskins game at the new Cowboy stadium. While we were in Dallas we visited the Holocaust Museum.

We have also had an unusual amount of family visitors lately which can frazzle anyones schedule especially mine. While I love the company the unscheduled visits can easily get me frazzled then I end up dazed, confused and stressed.


Stitching Update

I finished one stitching piece for a Swap-bot exchange. It is a monochromatic biscornu in a beautiful shade of blue. I really liked how it turned out, it was difficult to mail it away. Still have many other stitching projects going too many to list. I am working on my 2010 craft plan, I really need to get better organized--I feel like this is a recurring theme in my life.

I sent and recieved an Advent package for the exchange on CSE. I enjoyed the Advnt exchange but I found it to be very stressful. It was very difficult to come up with 25 gifts for one person. I don't think this type of exchange is for me, but I am glad I tried it out. Unfortunatley, I decided to leave a few of my stitching groups. I was just overwhelmed with e-mails I barely read and inundated with unfinished projects because I kept commiting to group activities. I have decided to stick to one stitching and one card making group with a few Swap-bot exchagnes. Sometimes change is good.


Paper crafts

I am always doing something with my paper crafts--mostly card making. The Card Swap forum is really fun and I plan to do more with them in 2010. Once I find my camera I may post a few pics of some recent cards. Besides making cards I have started to cover bird houses with decorative papers for Christmas.


Basket weaving

I weaved two pencil cups for Teacher presents and prepared 5 Nativity baskets for family gifts. Thanks to my mentor/weaving buddy Sue for the help with the Nativity baskets or else some folks would only get a card and cookies this year.


Other Crafty Stuff

The kids and I made Cinnamon ornaments with their initials stamped on the back for our family. It smells like a cinnamon explosion in my kitchen. I was surprised how easy it was to do. The hardest part was finding a large container of cinnamon.


Baking

This is the time of year that I bake until I can't stand it any longer. I have made six types of biscotti, lemon cookies, and giant ginger cookies. Time permitting I will bake some cranberry cheese bars later today for our little trip to Granny's house tomorrow.


PIF

I have sent out Meari's PIF. Take a look at her blog for the goodies. My objective is for fit all I can in the USPS Small Priority mail box. I plan to do one a month until all nine are completed. I have lots of goodies for all my PIF pals. Barb, you are next cause I know your favorite color. I will be mailing your package in January. Anne, Carol, Chars, Chiki, Donna, Janet and Lynda keep checking back to see when to expect your PIF. Don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have any questions or concerning regarding the PIF.

Book Reading Challange Update

I manged to finish four books, I thought I could do better than this by the deadline of 31 Dec 09. Maybe next time.

1) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J. K. Rowling-Finished
2) A Tisket, a Tasket, a Fancy Stolen Casket, Fran Rizer - Finished
3) Murder Unleashed, Elaine Viets - Finished
4) Murder with Reservations, Elaine Viets
5) Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone, J. K. Rowling
6) a mercy, Toni Morrison
7) Hey Diddle, Diddle the Corpse and the Fiddle, Fran Rizer - Reading
8) What Happens When Women Walk in Faith, Lysa Terkurst - Reading
9) The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown
10) Accessory to Murder, Elaine Viets - Finished

Happy Holidays!! See you in 2010.

CJ

Biscornu and Book Challenge

Good Morning!!

During the summer I joined a swap-bot biscornu group. So far I have made and swapped two biscornus, while my first one did not turn out so great I was very happy with the second and I have a few photos to share. I stitched on hand-dyed 14ct aida from Enchanted Fabrics and floss from Carries Creation Thread.




Book Challenge Update

So far I have read one book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", and I am almost finished with a second. I have also edited my list a bit removing a book that I read before the challenge got started--couldn't help myself-- and added Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" and another by Elaine Viets.

What Else am I Stitching

I am ashamed to say that I have too many stitching projects going at once. I need to get them re-organized and put them in a rotation, then force my self to spend at least one solid hour per week on each or I may never have them finished. I have a Bent Creek Snapper, Gazette 94 SAL, Mausiemom SAL, BRD SAL and one Halloween Biscornu in the works. With the kids in school and hubby at work, I should be able to make this work. Just can't let my card making get in the way.

Speaking of card Making

Here are a few finished that I want to share with all of you. The first is a card I made for one of the CSE moderators birthday. It is a matchbook style card with a pocket inside. I got the idea from another card maker, but I can't remember her name or blog. The image is made with a technique called pulling pastels. You cover a piece of card stock with chalk and them stamp the image using a clear type of ink called Versamark. I put a little sparkle in the center of the flowers which is not showing up in the picture. Inside the card pocket I wrote a note and added some floss.


I used the same technique to make this butterfly card for a swap-bot exchange.

That is enough for today. Time for another cup of tea. Don't forget about my giveaway there is still a few days left to enter my PIF, if you are interested leave me a comment in that post.

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

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

It's a Friday Update

Hi everyone-

Hope everyone is doing good and keeping warm with all this frigid weather we have had this week. We even had some frozen days here in North Texas. My kids missed two days of school due to some serious ice. Check out the view form my back door, it does not look too bad, but it was cold, high was 22 for two days. The forecast for today is about 65, that is Texas.

Stitching Update
For whatever reason I did not get much stitching done this week. I promise to do better next week. Although, I did celebrate my birthday and I received lots of birthday cards and floss from the Chatty Stitching Exchange Birthday Floss Club (BFC) exchange. It was so exciting to open those cards. Here is a picture of all the floss and cards I received.



I also had anyother surprise int he mail, I received my PS Fans Snowman made by Debi. She finished it as a cube, I just love it. He is going in my ornament display basket that I keep out all year to remind me of Christmas. Thanks Debi for a making a great Snowman for me.



Cards, Cards and more Cards
Managed to put together a few more cards this week for upcoming BFC exchanges. I really like making my own cards and try to do it when I have the time. Next week I will make one for MIL birthday and Mother's Day. Take a look at what I did this week.

One last bit to share with you. One of the BFC birthday cards I received was hand-made by Wendy. How sweet of her to make a card for me. I truly appreciate it and I wanted to share it with all of you in blog land. Thanks Wendy for the beautiful card.




Have a great weekend, enjoy the Superbowl.


See ya!!

CJ

It's Thursday!!

Happy Thursday, what a week it has been for our great nation. I was truly impressed with the inauguration events and happy to see President Obama get right to work yesterday regarding ethics and lobbyist. Now we just have to see how it all works out. I am keeping my thoughts on the positive side. Having grown up in Delaware, I was very proud to see Joe Biden become VP, he is a good man and he was good for Delaware.

Stitching Update
This week I have been finishing up the last of the CSE RR, can't wait to start the next one. I have almost completed the stitching for my PIF's and I joined a The Needles Content "A Year of Primitive Floss Tags group. Below are a few finishes that I wanted to share with you. I also plan to make an bookmark for the Nordic Needle 2009 Bookmark Challenge, check out Meari's blog for more details. What a great way to do a little something to promote literacy.

This my first finish for 2009. It will also be posted in the Christmas SAL and Ornie SAL groups. The pattern is from Gazette 94 blog, stitched on a scrap of gold, 14ct Aida using Carrie's Creation thread "Holly Days". This will be finished as an ornament for my Christmas tree. I really like how it turned out. I have already started my ornament for February.



This is a little Prairie Schooler ornament I made in December for an exchange on the Prairie Schooelr Fans Group. The colors look much better in person. Like all PS patterns it was an easy stitch, a pleasure to make. It was stitched on 16ct hand dyed aida from Enchanted Fabrics, color Royality using DMC floss.

Cards/Paper crafts
I have made several cards in the last few months for floss exchanges and birthdays. This is something that I really enjoy doing, I think is makes the packages a little extra special. I have added some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

This is a card for my very BFF, Nora in Indiana. Her birthday was inauguration day. She is an avid card maker and she is the one who inspired me to make cards. This is made with Stampin Up papers, Image Maker flowers, white ribbon and a Paper Studio Rub-On. Trust me that this is not an original design, I adapted it from CK Media Card Creations Vol 2. It is rare when I come up with an original design.

These cards, so nicely displayed on my dining table, were made in November. I used them for birthday and thank-you cards. Again I used Stampin Up papers, I really like them. If you are interested in Stampin Up suggest you check out the Rebel Inkers blog. She'll inspire you.

This is Hershey bars, wrapped in Stampin Up Chocolate Chip paper--my favorite. I sent these along with different exchanges last fall.

Lastly, these are pocket cards made form 4 cirles and two squares of paper. You can use plain paper inside for a message or pattern paper then insert a surprise. I did the later and filled the pocket with floss for a floss birthday exchange along with a a little birthday note. This is also Chocolate Chip from Stampin Up.


Hope you are having a great day and staying warm--especially those of you up north. It will be in the 70's here today. But never fear a cold front is moving in for Saturday.

See ya~!!

CJ