Emblished burp cloths...

A CHELSEA MORNING

I found this through 5 Minutes for Mom.

I made some custom burp cloths for my little one too! I added an edge of fabric (I had seen one that had ribbon & beading, too much for baby!). I'll have to dig one out & post a pic. I love Barb's version. I can't wait to make some for the next baby shower!!!

Tackle it Tuesday #5

My Tackle doesn't even feel like a tackle this week! We went out side & began the L-O-N-G clean up from the mess of winter. We have only lived in our house for 3 years (4 in July) & we didn't have the $ to finance all the projects that need to be done (yet) so we do a little at a time.

Our house was built in 1867 so it is celebrating its 140th birthday this year! So it has all the old home quirks & charm & problems!!!

Yesterday was start clearing the side porch so we can use it day, it's amazing how much stuff piles in the cold months on a covered porch. Plus a corner is dedicated to ice cream shop stuff that I need to weed through & see what's salvageable for resale & what just needs to get tossed.

So that is my tackle...finally beginning spring cleaning, yipppeee!!!

Easter stuff & a SEWING project!!!

I am starting to think about the upcoming holiday (I feel like I am just a tad behind!) We did bring the decorations up from the basement & I definitely don't need eater grass! That seems to be all I have an abundance of. I also have a couple towels I made toppers for (so they hang like the crocheted ones do.) I was looking for something the kids could do & ended up finding "Marthas" crafts for me!

Chick & HEN Table Decor


Rabbit Template
Bunny Napkin Fold

On a sewing note I started my next project for the Princess. So far I have cut 5" off the bottom of the legs & slit the sides (just about to the crotch) & trimmed out the seam. I decided on a springy green print. I am going to wedge the print in to give the pants a gaucho feel & create ruffles for the cuffs. I hope it comes out cute! I also have a pair of jeans the Prince wore out at the knees. I cut off the worn parts & I left them as shorts. I think I will be turning them into a skirt, maybe a 2 layer bubble... who knows!
And since I have put my dorkiness on full display in the last few days... How about last night Battle Star Gallactica??? I actually said what the Frack!!!! Between BSG & LOST, my head is going to spin around & then explode!

Top Momma

I had to get in on the fun over at Top Momma.

It is just a collection of Blogs! I will be adding a badge to my sidebar for your clicking pleasure next!

The Fellowship of the Monkey!

Melissa over at Little Wool Gatherings has joined a contest that would pay her to blog for a year! She has even gone to the lengths of creating a fellowship of bloggers to help in her quest. (I feel my dorkiness is peeking here just a BIT, so ignor it if you must!) I am an honored member of the fellowship of the monkey & our mission is to click the monkey once a day until Melissa wins! You will find the Monkey in question on my sidebar, just ignor the Great Eye in the distance & click! Click like the fate of Middle Earth were at stake... okay dorkiness not even trying to hid now...

I am off trying to ignor fabric shops online...Spring has sprung & I am itching to sew...must resist...

McCall email

I have been getting the McCall Pattern Co's newsletter for a while, every so often they have something I really would be excited about...

This month they announced 4 patterns based on designs of Hilary Duff. Not that I am into celebrity endorsments (can't stand that the cute stuff for girls at Wal-Mart is Kate & Ashley) but the 4 patterns McCalls has in their Stuff by Hilary Duff are really cute!

The patterns feature hooded jackets, tops, skirts, capris & shorts. Only 2 of the 4 come in sizes I will use anytime soon
The children & Girls Jacket, Top & Skirt are really cute & highly detailed. I'm not sure if I am into sewing a knit
shirt yet, but the hooded jacket might be worthy of an attempt! The Children's & Girls Tops & Capris pattern has the most adorable cap sleeve top.
I'm not sure why I feel like sewing a polo style shirt seems beyond my skill, but a pair of denim capris...bring it on!

I'll probably wait for the next $0.99 pattern sale...Sewing @ Joann.com!
I just can't bring myself to pay full price...I guess that's not a bad thing :D.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just poppin in to say howdy & have a great safe day!

We hade green eggs & banana pancakes for breakfast & I am still cleaning the kitchen, so I am off!!!

Tackle it Tuesday! #4

This may seem like a strange tackle to most, however it was nagging me, due to our current former & current tenant situation. They continually complained about the strom door not latching. So finally yesterday it was nice enough to venture out & take a look. Well I can tell you that it looked like someone had ripped the door frame off & then reattached it BADLY. ~I painted the door trim in 2005 so paint was newish & could tell it had been moved form where it was when I painted~ So the door now latches & I have more pics to take to court with me.

This is the window that was cracked by the former tenants junk being pushed into it (her ex dropped off an organ one day & left it on the porch, well needless to say I wasn't letting them put it upstairs, so it sat on the porch until they removed it this weekend):

And this is the porch railing that was fine in January, last time we shoveled off the steps & now is falling apart (after the former tenant moved her stuff out).

That isn't all I did this weekend, but today I am tackling my house! You can tell that I haven't been focusing on housework, eeek!

Blog party links #2

I can't believe it's already Saturday!

Sara @ The Estrogen Files has this hysterical (and so true) comic up & some great music going as well.

Beverly has a yummy sounding shredded chicken bbq sandwich. Can't wait to try that one, I love BBQ!

Amy a fellow Flygirl, has opened the door to her control journal! Fling on Amy, Fling on!!!

Melissa has some great crochet designs to share with one & all!!!

Dawn @ Texas Purl Gurl is the winner of my $10 Barnes & Nobel Gift Card, congrats again!!!

Shalee's Diner has a book meme up that I will tackle eventually (that's just a lot of html code to get right!)


While browsing Crickl's Nest I found this Toffee Recipe. Sounds delish, how do I get myself on your gift list...I'd make you a batch of my chocolate truffles in exchange...really I would :D.

Off the party trail...

Mom2fur has a pic of a baby outfit she made, kudos, it's adorable!

Ok, I am falling behind on my surfing! Better go, only 700 sites left to visit... This is gonna take a while

Friday Feast #5

Friday Feast


Appetizer
What is your usual bedtime? Do you like that, or would you rather it be different?

My usual bed time is 11:30ish. I'd like it to be 11, but usually as soon as I turn off the TV the Princess gets up.

Soup
When it comes to advice, do you give more or receive more?

I think I give more than I get, mostly because when I ask for advice no one has a clue... Although I am finding more & more wisdom in the blogsphere!

Salad
Describe a memorable meal you've had.

Well there was the anniversary dinner in 1999 when my water broke in the bathroom of a Ruby Tuesday's, just after appetizers had been served, I was sooooo hungry by the time the Prince was born 6 hours later...

Main Course
Name a work of fiction that affected the way you think about something.

I am not sure how to answer this, I don't really read much fiction & when I do its a trashy romance novel or Anne Rice, so maybe my view of Vampires changed...???

Dessert
What is your favorite type of fruit juice?

Cranberry on ice with a double shot of Southern Comfort...

American Sewing Expo Newsletter

E-Swatches is a newsletter I get from the American Sewing Expo. The website has links to their current & archived newsletters as well as information on the upcoming September 2007 Expo.

I have not attended, however the owner of the sewing center & my former co-worker attended the 2006 show. It sounded like great fun. I know that my creative side has not matured to the level of these artists, but I love looking, I get inspiration!

I love reading about their "young designers" ages 8 - 18. I'd love to have my daughter attend this with me when she is old enough. I wish that I had been encouraged to sew more at a younger age. I was so close to creating a formal dress (it was my 3rd or 4th sewing project), I even had to use boning. It all went well until I had to put in a zipper, then it all went downhill. I'm not sure if it was my lack of experience or my Mom's machine, but we'll blame the machine :D. I never did wear the dress out of the house. I did learn to use matching thread on that project. I started out with basic white & quickly realized that it needed to match or you'd see the stitching. Lesson learned & now I can put in a zipper! (BTW, the newsletter talks about the new Easy Zippers DVD from Islander Sewing Systems)

In the February newsletter they announced the celebrity judge for their "Passion for Fashion" contest is the 2006 winner of Project Runway Season II, Chloe Dao. They are even offering an opportunity to meet Chloe, if you register.

I can say that I don't watch too much of the "Project Runway" shows, but I have caught a few. Like, I remember the controversy over the rumored "not sewing his own work" guy. But, I have watched "Bold & the Beautiful" & I don't think they've ever had Eric or Ridge sitting at the sewing machine... So I wasn't pulled in by the "scandal". I do admire their creative talents collectively. Designing original fashions can't be easy, especially with some of the challenges they are given. Didn't they have a bubble wrap challenge? Like I said I don't watch!!!

Sewing, who has time???

Ok, so I am soooo starting to get the itch, but I am looking at my very long to do list (posted at The Frugal Momma) thinking when??? Then I read about people spring cleaning & taking their kids to the park & I'm like it's only 20 degrees here!!! I don't spring clean until it's at least 50s...

I just discovered You Can Make This. I can't wait to get some $ in my paypal, so I can order!!! I am looking to make the Princess some really cute summer outfits.

Southern Pecan Coffee...

Ok I had to share the link to buy this great coffee! I don't get anything out of this (not a sponsored link), but my Mom does work at a different booth (flags & stuff) operated by this company & they are family friends...

Chautauqua Coffee They roast their own beans & have a ton of different flavors to choose from.

I use their coffee in my concession trailer & I had 2 flavors brewed at all times in my ice cream shop! The market is closed for the winter (they are open May to Dec), but I pick some up when we go buy our coal for the furnace!

Tackle it Tuesday

Well I am posting my weekend tackle, because I don't have pics of what I have been doing upstairs. I have great pics of what dh has done, my projects aren't done yet...(I got ALL the painting!)

Saturday morning I went into the Prince's room & began teaching him the FlyLady way to clean. I told him to pick counter clockwise or clockwise & we did one area at a time. In no time we had all his toys put away (where they go) his clean laundry put in his drawers & dirty stuff moved from hamper to laundry room.

He organized all of his "wheeled things" in his barn & put all the planes & helicopters on top, like a landing strip.

Today I have to go to the store, we need food & I ran out of caulk yesterday. I used 4 tubes on the floor in the apartment, If the new tenant spills a glass of water I don't want it ruining my new bedroom ceiling, so I am being obsessive!!! Plus, the floor is old & the spacing is bad, so there are some pretty large gaps to fill. The smaller seams I am leaving to the primer & paint.

I am going to tackle a few visits for the party today! I'll probably have a new post up tomorrow of the more great new sites I've found...

Party on!!!

Blog Party & other links you'll find me at!

I just discovered this link a couple of weeks ago You Can Make This I haven't made a purchase yet but it is just a matter of time! I do so love the instant gratification of the downloadable pattern!

This weeks Carnival of the recipes is up at Jamileigh

Family Corner looking for fun St. Patricks Day Crafts to do with the kiddos.

BLOG PARTY YIPPEEE! I know that we are supposed to write a post at the end of our favorite visits, but I have already been to over 100 places & I'll never remember by the end of the week, so here is a couple new places I've been.

The Pumpkin Patch

Crazy Blogging Canuck

Juggling Mum

Stray Thoughts

Adventures in Baby Wearing, congrats on winning the first contest at Monkey Giggles!

Especially Heather, congrats on hubby's promotion!

Taunalen made us yummy lava cakes & great coffee!

Woman with Many Hats gave us a video to a really cool experiment, now I just need to get my hands on some Oxygen...

The Song of My Soul

The Sock Shop, I didn't write down which blogger this was, so sorry, but I LOVE THESE SOCKS!!!

An Ordinary Mom Gave us her 11th commandment ~ “Thou shalt attend to the needs of thy family and to the needs of thy household before satisfying thy blogging addiction.”

Sage Willow School made a couple yummy appetizers & some delish orange mocha (can I have mine with REAL RUM, I'll BYOB!!!)

Ok I have been to so many new places already there are too many to list! I'll have to post more after I surf more!!!

Friday Feast

I am gonna post my feast here this week!!!

Appetizer
What does the color pink make you think of?

Little girls, pink is my new fav color!

Soup
Name something you thought you had lost, but later found.

Can I say my mind, nope not yet...still missing!!!!

Salad
In 3 words, describe this past week.

Adventures in DIY

Main Course
What are you obsessed with?

Blogging, chocolate, recipes, power tools, sewing... just to name a few!

Dessert
What kind of perfume or cologne do you like to wear?

What I am wearing now is Goddess by Avon, but I am partial to the Calvin Klein ones, Obsession, Eternity...

Blog Party Yippeeee!!!

Welcome to the Party! Go check in at 5 minutes for Mom for a chance at some fantastic prizes and to visit all the other participating bloggers!

By the way Hi, I'm Lisa, mom to 2, wife to 1! I am a sewer, crafter, DIYer, Baker, Chef, wahm, business owner, blogger & go class of '92! It's a party so I'll be brief there is food to enjoy!!!

The party runs from today March 2 to March 9 7PM. Plenty of time to surf the other sites, chill out, enjoy the party & make some new friends! I'm sure I'll run into you there.

I have the appetizers out, wine chilled (ok at the moment I am enjoying a VERY large cup of Southern Pecan Coffee), bar is ready and open.

So won't you come in & enjoy some Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball with Graham Crackers & some Crab Rangoon and browse around if you like what you see comment, link me, or just enjoy!

I have to go check out my first batch of fellow party-ers, so have fun & good luck!

***I have better music running over at The Frugal Momma

Lisa