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Monday, January 10, 2011

I've Got a Project....

...I've been working on...

...I'm not finished.  It's a copycat craft and I LOVE it!
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Here's a sneak peek.....

Fingers crossed and children willing you'll get to see the finished project tomorrow!

We've had an exciting day!  Last night, the snow started falling and falling and falling.  We had about six inches and we're in the "South"!  Our entire area was pretty much shut down.  So, we had a long weekend and a lot of snow to play in.

We played!

So sorry about the sideways shots!
...and played

Mariella venturing out...

...and sat...

...and marched, or so it looks...

...and sunk, poor Sid!

....and GraciAnn made snow angels...

...and got pulled on the sled...
(This is when you wish you had a sloped yard.)

...and shared the sled...

Daddy's turn to pull!

...and cuddled...

...and had a fantastic day!

So, now you see why my project is not finished.  It's worth waiting for.
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Atlanta Snow Day & Weekly Menu Plans

Well, it snowed in Georgia!  That is not a common occurrence here!   This is the second time in two months though.  We got about 4 inches where we live, but in some nearby areas they got closer to 8 inches!  We are supposed to get about an inch of ice on top of this!

For those of you not familiar with Southerners, snow and ice like this is debilitating!  We are in a state of emergency and no one should be on the roads at all.  Why, you ask?  We heard on the news this morning that Georgia has about 15 salt trucks, yep for the entire state!  Our family is used to this as we grew up in Kentucky and lived in Northern Ohio for a few years.

We welcomed the snow today.  It is a reminder that we need to slow down and just enjoy time together.  My husband took the kids out to play (for all of 15 minutes before they started whining about being cold).  I wanted to share some pictures with you.  Evan got tired of being cold and preferred watching the fun from the front door.







We are enjoying being snowed in.  Now for our menu plans for this week!

Shannon is being so good and is having a healthy eating month.  She is working hard to eat healthy foods and is hopeful this will last longer than this month.  I am very proud of her! Plus, her menu is diverse!  Leave a comment if you would like a recipe for any of the items.

Shannon's menu plan
Sunday-Chicken Chili
Monday-Beef Stew
Tuesday-Steak Salad
Wednesday-Grilled Chicken and Veggies on the grill
Thursday-Coconut Curry Shrimp
Friday-Taco Night
Saturday-Baked Tilapia-Thai Style

I, on the other hand, am sticking to my normal foods.  I have a wedding to prepare for in April, but I am not in the mood to diet yet.  One day soon! You may notice some repeats from last week.  We got sick and hit up some Chinese soups so I moved meals to this week. Some of my meals have links to the recipes.  If there is recipe you would like, just leave me a comment.  I will also be adding the recipes from last week that were requested. 

Jill's Menu Plan
Monday-Italian Chicken, broccoli, mashed potatoes
Tuesday-My Crockpot BBQ pork on buns, green beans
Wednesday-leftovers (husband is gone on Wednesday nights)
Thursday-Wayne's Beef Macaroni and Cheese
Friday-Honey Teriyaki (KC Masterpiece marinade)Grilled Chicken, rice, oriental vegetables
Saturday-Baked Ziti, salad, french rolls
Sunday-Ham slice, peas and macaroni & cheese

 Have a great week and stay warm!

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Sunday, January 9, 2011

A new blog to share with you

A new blog called "Sweet November" is offering free advertising.  We have jumped in on the fun! You will see our button on their page.  Go check the blog out and let us know what you think!  Here is the info on the free advertising:



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I DID IT!- I finished the boards-A Tutorial, kind of...

This is how my morning started.  I had 8 boards that needed sanding, holes drilled, wire put on, vinyl added, and ribbon...I had a goal.  They'd be done today.  I think I can..

The boards are stacked and ready to go to the belt sander in the garage. I sand the edges where the paper is attached to the board. It blends so nicely.  The belt sander makes this part go quickly.  If you aren't blessed with a belt sander, a piece of sandpaper will do the trick!

To get holes that are perfectly spaced, I use a wooden square and drill in the lower corner of the square.

See the hole?  It's pretty small. I use a small drill bit because the wire is thin and I don't want big holes.

8 boards, 2 holes per board, let's see, 16 holes later I'm ready to add wire.  Here's what I need: wire, wire cutters, and an object to wrap the ends of the wire around to give it a curly look.  I use a pen.

I thread the wire from back to front.

I then wrap it around the top and go back through again. This gives stability. The wire I'm using this time isn't heavy wire so the double wrap is necessary.

I added a white bead. It reminded me of a cotton tail.  Perfect for my Easter board.

I wrapped the wire around the pen and pulled the pen away.  That's how I got the curl.

Wire wrapped around pen.

This is what the wire looks like when the pen is removed.  You can arrange it however. 

I added beads to this wire to match the candles.

The wires are in.  Now it's time to add vinyl.  Here's a "Santa" board I made for my friend, Jessica. The vinyl is cut out and ready to be applied.  As you can see, pull away any vinyl you don't want on your board.  What's left on the paper should be exactly what you want on the board.

Put transfer tape on the vinyl and rub it to get the vinyl to adhere.  Transfer tape is necessary.  It makes transferring the vinyl so much easier and keeps things straight. You can use a piece of transfer tape over and over. I usually can get about four uses out of each piece.

Peel the paper away from the vinyl.  This is what the letters look like on the transfer tape.

Position the tape on the board and rub it well. 

Pull the tape away and you're left with the vinyl, on the board. YEAH!

After vinyl, I added ribbons. Woops, forgot to take pictures of that!
Here's the finished Santa board.

Here's the finished birthday board.

I really like using different fonts for the vinyl.

Here's the finished Easter board.  It says, "Hoppy Easter".

Here's one of the finished Valentine's Day boards.  I made two identical.... craft sharing, remember! (I hope you like it Jill!)

Here's a not so great picture of our St. Patrick's Day board.  I added a washer to the ribbon. It reminds me of a Leprechaun's hat and it's gold.


There you have it. I completed 6 photo boards.  I also finished the board part of the subway art boards. Jill is going to add the vinyl. You'll get to see them in a future post where we show all the prizes won in our 12 days of Christmas giveaways. 8 boards complete!

So, I wanted to finish these early and have a relaxing evening. I finished at 10:15 pm.  Well, they're done. I  met my goal and I'm ready for bed!  There are so many benefits to "assembly line crafting"; however, I'm usually sick of the project once I've finished it. I'm glad to see these boards behind me.  I'm also glad that I've got a jump start on St. Patrick's Day and Easter.  Wow!  I'm actually ahead in something.

Please check our linky parties to see all the places we are linking up to today!

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Saturday, January 8, 2011

Crocheted Baby Blankets

I learned to crochet when I was a little girl from my Great Grandmother.  As I grew up, I forgot how to crochet.  I picked up a book to teach myself about 12 years ago.  Since then, I have made over 50 baby blankets!

One of the few handmade items that I remember from my childhood was a crocheted baby blanket.  A family friend made it for me before I was born.  I loved it so much my parents had to lose(put it at the top back corner of my closet) so that I wouldn't carry it around anymore.  Since I was so fond of mine, I try to make special blankets for the new babies of my friends and family. 

While I am catching up on shows at night, I like to crochet.  It is mindless and I feel like I am still getting something accomplished.  The problem is I am a procrastinator and also easily distracted.  The blanket I finished today is for a friend due any day now.  I thought she wasn't due till February!  I had to rush to get it finished, but I also got distracted with looking at other crafts.  Maybe my New Year's Resolution should be to focus on one thing at a time and not procrastinate.  We will see how that works out (note sarcasm).

Here is the one I just finished (finally!) today for a friend.  It is by far my favorite one of all time.  I got the pattern from a great book (borrowed from library and then ordered from Amazon) called Undercover:  60 Afghans to knit and crochet. I will probably be making this one much more often.  Maybe a large one for myself!
I love the scalloping throughout.
The scalloped edging makes it beautiful!
I made this with my new favorite yarn. It's called, I Love This Yarn. It is super soft and very nice to work with. I can only find it at Hobby Lobby so far and it never goes on sale!  Luckily, I can use a 40% off on it! The pictures look somewhat gray, but the color is more of a soft denim.  The official name is 96/Stonewash.

Prior to this blanket, I did just a simple pattern that I created.  If you want mindless, you've got it! Here it is:

Simple Afghan Pattern (pictured below)
Chain 103.
*Double Crochet in the third chain from the hook.
Double Crochet in every chain till the end of your row.*
Chain three.  Turn.  Repeat above in *'s till you have 80 rows of double crochet.  Add any border of your choosing.
This pattern can be used with any crochet hook size and any type of yarn.  Very versatile!
Pretty Pink Blanket
My nephew's blanket, he won't sleep without it!
Made this for Shannon's Mariella
This was a popular color this year.  Made it for two friends and my sweet Anna.
I have another blanket to work on soon, but before then, I am going to work on some other fun projects.  Be on the lookout for those!

Did you or your children love a handmade blanket?  Do you make something handmade for baby gifts?  I would love to hear about your favorites!  Give me some comment love!

Please check our linky parties to see all the places we are linking up to today!

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