I'm feelin'. . . . stylish!!!! :-)

Why am I feelin’ “stylish” ?---- well, because I’ve been given another Stylish award. That’s why. :-)

Thank you soooo much, Jen. You can find Jen at:- http://3catsandabug.blogspot.com/. You gotta check out the Birthday Book she made for her MIL, amongst other things. Really cute!

Along w/ accepting this award, come some rules:-

* Thank the person who gave it to you.
* Share 8 things about yourself.
* Pass the award on to 8 individuals you’ve recently discoverd.
* Make a post so they may pass along the recognition.

Here are my 8 things:-

1. I love to craft. (Been doing it since, forever.)
2. I love Country Music. (no surprise there -- my I-Pod gave that away)
3. I love my li’l Bailey (oh, BIG surprise there, eh?) LOL
4. I can easily laugh at myself. (I do it a LOT!)
5. I LOVE my fav. Soap:- “All My Children” (watched it since Day 1)
6. I just recently got a DSI and love the game MillionHeir (finally got thru the Gumshoe level!)
7. I have always disliked/misunderstood “Math” but the DSI “Brain Age” game has been helping me tremendously.
8. I LOVE anything “chocolate”. (esp. Purdy’s Hedgehogs)

Now to pass this award on to 8 bloggers, whom I have recently discovered:-

Amy Jo - http://chocolatepaperstamps.blogspot.com/
Idea Queen - http://hipandhumblepaperworks.blogspot.com/
Janet - http://ladyluvbug.blogspot.com/
Kristi - http://kristispapercreations.blogspot.com/
Mary - http://crazy2craft.blogspot.com/
Maureen - http://www.mypaperrose.blogspot.com/
Missy - http://papertreats.blogspot.com/
Sherry - http://macybella.blogspot.com/

What a wonderful way of acknowledging someone else’s talent/creativity, at the same time of introducing them to others. :-)

Updated Cricut Cartridge List

Hiya. Well, our good friend, ProvoCraft, released 3 new cartridges this month. They are:-

Creative Memories™ Stork's Delivery Cartridge
Cricut Imagine™ Colors and Patterns, Vintage Papers
Cricut Imagine™ Colors and Patterns, Heirloom

I have updated my Cricut Cartridge List and you can find it here:-
http://www.mediafire.com/?ocqufi1fxd1xcg5

I'd like to know if you're enjoying this list and it's meeting your needs. I realize that not everyone has the same needs and maybe this list isn't what you're looking for.

Would you like me to continue updating it and sharing it on my blog?

Thanks!

ED --- this is for YOU!!!!

Hiya! Well, my cousin dared me to put this on my Playlist:- Rebel Rouser by Duane Eddy.

But the joke is on him cuz I had noooooo problem-o putting this on my Playlist. I really like it.

Duane Eddy is well renowned for his "twangy" guitar and is known as the "King of Twang". Denis Solee who plays the sax w/ him is great, too.

Sooooo, cous --- this is for YOU!!!! and anyone else who enjoys it. :-)

Here's the video of him. Make sure you first "mute" my I-Pod at the bottom of this column. :-)



Please tell me what you all think!! :-)

Search Feature explanation

Hiya. This message is for my friend, Audrey, and anyone else who isn't familiar w/ how this "Search feature" works.

Noooooo, you don't plunk in "special", Audrey --- you put some topic that you might be interested in seeing. e.g. Say, you remember me babbling about my revolving rack. Rather than scrolling thru the WHOLE blog searching for the diff. posts or even clicking on "craft room" under "Labels", all you need to do is type in "revolving rack" in the "Search feature" (as in the pic below), and it will bring up each and every post that my revolving rack appears.

How cool is that, eh??? Hope this helps a lot better! :-) You can click on the pic for it to enlarge!

Oooops, almost forgot to mention:- this super feature is available in Blogger, under "design". You add a gadget and it's called: Google Search.

SEARCH my blog

OMG --- I had noooooooo idea this was even available but. . . . . it is!!! Waaaahoooooo! Now, if you want to see something "special" on my blog, all you need to do is use the "Search function", which is located on my right side-bar, at the very top, just above the li'l waving guy!! Hope you like it!!! :-)

Blog Award. . .

Oh wow, I won another Blog Award. This time it’s one that I’ve never seen before. I did some research on it but wasn’t able to discover how it originated; however, I was able to find out this:-
The purpose of the Liebster Blog Award is to bring recognition and exposure to small blogs who have less than 300 followers. Upon acceptance of this award, the blogger then agrees to choose three other small blogs that he/she would recommend to others.

My blog award was presented to me by AJ of http://queenofmynest.blogspot.com/

Thank you soooo much, AJ. I feel really honoured that you chose me for this award. I still wish, tho, I could find out WHO started this award. (LOL) I’m guessing someone w/ the last name of Liebster??? :-)

Having said all of that, you have to check out AJ's blog. Her Valentine’s project made me drool!!! LOL I also love her blog name. Sooooo cute. It reminded me of the poster I have on my wall that says:- “Queen of Everything” by Mary Engelbriet (ME). For those of you who know me, you know my craft/sewing room has a lot of ME in it. :-)

Now to choose 3 “up and coming” blogs:-

Jansie of http://jansiesfancies.blogspot.com/ -- check out the Cosmo bag she made!

Missy of http://papertreats.blogspot.com/ -- check out her altered mailboxes!

Tracy of http://crazyforstamps.blogspot.com/ -- check out a quilt she made!

Valentine's Day Card

Oh my, I almost forgot to show you the Valentine card I made for the hubster. Just ½ of Valentine’s Day is over, so I guess I still have time. LOL

Made completely w/ Martha Stewart punches. . . .

Here are the punches utilized. . . . .

.


Tools/Items:-
Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page - Loops Heart
Martha Stewart Punch All Over the Page – Studded Heart
Martha Stewart Punch – Lace Scallop Heart
Glue (regular, ATG)
Corner Rounder
Cardstock – red and white
Stickles – Candy Cane
Popdots

Base card – 7” x 11”, folded
Layer – 5” x 5”, trimmed w/ the MS loops heart (corner and border punch)

Embellies:-
* hearts cut from the MS studded heart punch
o Used two (white), inter-twined, for the inside of the card
o Used two (red), on top of the layer on the front of the card
o Stickled one of the hearts
* heart from the Lace Scallop Heart punch

Sentiment was computer-generated.

Easey Peasey! :-)

Sewing room

Hiya! Happy Monday! and. . . . . Happy Valentine's Day!!! :-) Hope you get to spend it w/ your sweetie!!! :-)

I always refer to my "haven" as my "craft/sewing room". Well, I'm now going to showcase the "sewing" part of it. It just takes up one wall, whereby my craft section takes up 3 walls and the middle. :-)

You may have seen this pic before. It's the wall directly to the left, as you enter the room. It has a sewing cabinet against the wall. It's a "Horn" cabinet that the front flips out and over, to house a Serger. It has a 3-position air-lift mechanism for my sewing machine, which is awesome. More pix later.

Here's "Schweetheart" (a Ty baby that used to belong to my DD). He now guards my sewing section. :-) To the right, is my corner cabinet that houses my sewing fabric and notions.

You can also see (CLICK on the pix to enlarge them!) a Singer sewing machine that I got when I was a child. (I started early!) :-)

Here's a close-up of the wallhanging I made. It has pockets for various notions. It was a blast making it.

Here's the top of the sewing wall. Hubby put up my "sewing machine" spool rack yesterday. Yeah!!!! :-)

Here it is, fully stocked w/ embroidery and serger thread. A friend of mine designed the pattern for it and then her hubby jigsawed it out. Cute, eh??? I'm pondering painting it black and then jazzing it up w/ some embellies. But, still mulling that over.

Here's my sewing cabinet. Ohhhhh, what's that on the floor??? Did I drop something?? Nooooooo, it's just li'l Bailey. LOL Isn't he just the most adorable li'l thing, ever??? :-)

OMG, there's actually a sewing machine in that cabinet. LOL Its very FIRST unveiling. ;-)

The right side flips up to give more area to work. Then the back flips up for a cutting area. I just LOVE that cabinet. Hubby totally surprised me w/ it one Christmas. DD had just moved out and her room was "up for grabs". Sooooo, I grabbed it. LOL First, had to remove wall paper, posters, you know the drill. LOL Hubby told me to stay out of the room, as he was going to clean the carpet, so I very willingly obliged. LOL Christmas came and we opened our presents. Then he told me there was one more pressie for me. He took me to DD's old room and, lo and behold, there was my new sewing cabinet, w/ a HUGE burgundy bow on it and w/ the Sewing Machine in it, along w/ the Serger. (it's housed in a pull-out drawer on the bottom left) What an absolute sweetheart, eh? :-) I think he's definitely a "keeper"!! :-)

Oh, I found a pic of the "wrapped present". :-)

Oh my, there's actually a sewing machine underneath there. LOL

Here's the cloth cover I made for it. It still needs to have the bottom completed. If you enlarge the pic, you can see that I used puff paint for the bottom of the sewing machine and other spots. All of the designs have been appliqued on the cover. That's mainly what I enjoy/love sewing ---- crafty thingies.

Here's the top of the cover, where I was playing around w/ some embroidery stitches.

I've never sewn a dress or any other outfit. I've mainly embroidered T-shirts, napkins and, not to forget, my wallhanging. I could previously only use my sewing machine on either the kitchen or dining room table for. . . .years, so it didn't really get much use. Now that I have my craft/sewing room, I'll be able to play w/ it a lot more.

I have the Customizer 2000 for it but have never played w/ it. Go figure, eh? LOL Can't rush into these things, you know. LOL Thank heavens they've done "upgrades" that one can download off the Net for it. :-) For those that don't know, the Customizer allows one to download clipart (or other embroidery designs) off the Net and then convert them into embroidery designs. They have since come out w/ machines that are totally computerized. I don't have a need to upgrade to one of those, as I'm very happy w/ the Janome 9000, that I have. :-)

Hope you enjoyed my li'l "sewing corner". Just goes to show you what you can fit into a teeney room.

I'm working on doing an updated "room lay-out", so you can readily see how my room is laid out. And. . . . . .one day soon, I'll tackle doing a video of my room. Have never done a video before, so it'll be quite the challenge but, at the same time, a lot of fun. Stay tuned. :-)

Siggie Tutorial

Top o' the morn. to ya!!! I would love to show you how I accomplished my li'l siggie thingie. :-)

I got the instructions from this awesome blog:- Shabby Blogs

I tried posting the instructions directly into my blog but, for whatever reason, the coding wouldn't show up. So, here's the direct link to where the instructions are:

http://shabbyblogsblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/tutorial-how-to-add-custom-signature-to.html

Just wanted to mention one thing:- this isn't the "combo border/siggie" that a lot of people have. I have nooooooo idea how they got that. Mine went all garbally-gook on top of everything. That's when I found these instructions. This siggie shows up "ALL THE TIME" right in your POST area. Soooo, if that's what you're after, you're on your way. :-)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now, isn't that the easiest-peasiest instructions, ever???!!!! I LOVE it! If I would've tried these, right off the bat, instead of spending HOURS (& I mean hours!!!) trying to do the other one, my stress level would've been a lot better. It was really nerve-wracking, as some of you already know.

It also drove me craaaaaazy doing the "border" thingie. And. . . . . I have NO idea how I finally ended up doing it. The coding that I was supposed to find in my HTML coding just WASN'T THERE. But I kept playing around w/ this and that, deleting this and that, adding this and that, and FINALLY I ended up w/ a repeating border. But, I couldn't repeat that task, if my life depended on it. Soooooo, I probably can never substitute another border for it, neither. :-(

But. . . . . I am more than happy w/ how this li'l siggie thingie worked. It was very easy-peasey! Let me know how yours turned out. I would love to see it!!! :-)

Oh, yeh --- they also have instructions on their site how to do those dang repeating borders. Hope you have more success than I did. :-)

http://shabbyblogsblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/tutorial-how-to-add-post-dividers-to.html

New Siggie

Hiya. Well, I've been admiring all the cute siggies that some people have on their blogs. It drove me nuts trying to figure out how to do one, tho. Reminded me of the "torture" I was put thru when I was trying to learn how to do "dividers". LOL

Anyway, here's the end result. Whaddya think?? Cute, eh? LOL

My new craft work area

Hiya! Hope you're all having a nice week-end. Hubby put the finishing touches on my computer workstation. He added some 1/4" thick pegboard to the back of it. And. . . . . we were able to get it for only 75 cents at our local Rona store. How cool is that, eh? A whole sheet is around $19.00, which we didn't at all need, so we checked the "leftovers" bin and there it was --- just calling out our name. :-)

I'm very happy w/ the end result. As you can see, my revolving rack fits very nicely in its spot beside the desk. You'll see some vacant space to the left of the desk. That's so the corner cabinet door is able to open fully. I can still store some things on the floor beside the desk, as the door is only the top half of the corner cabinet. Maybe sweet li'l "Ann Estelle" (Mary Engelbreit doll) can perch there. You can see her backside in the pic below. :-)

Don't forget that you can enlarge the pix, by clicking on them. :-)

So, here's the computer station which is now going to be my "Card Creating Station". I can pull out the keyboard tray and use that as extra creating space. I'm using the CD holder area to store my "Nestabilities". (I only have 4 sets, which are stored in CD cases.) I'm also going to store some clear stamp sets that I've also got in CD cases.

I still have a shelf that needs to go into the left-hand bottom area but I haven't quite decided what I'm going to store in there yet. So that will have to wait.

And. . . . . here's my revolving rack in all of its glory. (LOL) I made a sign topper for it. I've also made/created a new WORD:- "paraphernali". I know it should have an "a" on the end, being "paraphernalia" but that doesn't rhyme w/ "miscellany". LOL

Here's a closer view of it. . . . .

You can see that I've got some chipboard boxes in the racks. And. . . .thanks to all of you who provided me w/ other suggestions, I'm sure it will be filled in no time. :-)

So, if you have a small room like I do, you can still juggle things around so that things will fit.

Revolving Rack ideas

Top o' the morn to ya!! Hope you're having a nice week-end, so far. :-)

Well, the hubster put together my computer station (which will take the place of the 48" table I had and which will also allow my revolving rack to fit in that space.) Yeah!!!!! It's gonna look, oh so fine!!! :-)

Before I do the unveiling ---- I wanted to share w/ you some of the creative ideas that a lot of people have shared w/ me. Thank you soooooo much to those who left ideas on my blog and also who e-mailed me w/ their ideas. A lot of these I hadn't thought of --- so a BIG thank you!!! And, it just may help out someone else; hence, the sharing of it on my blog. :-)

You can grab a copy of this document here:-
http://www.mediafire.com/?b71ebd1xuy9nfo2

Here's a pic of it:-


We still have some "tweaking" to do to my computer station so, hopefully, I'll be able to share some pix w/ you soon. :-)

CHA Goodies!

OMG, the craft companies have totally outdone themselves this year. Here are some excerpts from the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) Trade Show, which took place in Los Angeles, California, that some wonderful people have been sharing w/ us.

These were some of the items that really caught my eye:-

Do you see a “pattern of mine” here??? LOL ----- ladybugs, of course. LOL Aren't they simply adorable? Who wouldn't love to receive a card w/ li'l ladybugs crawling all over it?? LOL

The li'l bees are cute, too! :-)

But check out this. SEW cute!!!!!:-

I’m really likin’ this new toy, Sew Easy. I’m hopin’ our M’s will be carrying it and % off coupons will be able to be used towards it. Love how they included a storage case for the li’l gem.

Soooooo, what have your "fav's" been that you've seen posted on a lot of blogs/sites??? I'd appreciate a "link" where there's a pic of it, cuz I'm a very "visual" person. :-)

Hope you all have a wonderful week-end.

Hubby is going to be putting my new computer station together, today. WhoooooHooooo! Can you tell that I'm really excited about it!!?? LOL My li'l room will be "up to snuff" real soon!!! Ohhhhh, and I made a "sign" for the topper of my spinning stand. It's still in the preparation stage but it's really cute, if I do say so myself. LOL

Blog Award!

Wowsers! I just received a blog award from the very creative, Mary. She also has another blog because her first one was over-flowing. You should check out both of her blogs. She has some amazing projects and wonderful tuts!! Thank you soooooo much, Mary. Very sweet of you to think of me!! :-)

The rules in accepting this award are:-

1. Thank the person who gave it to you.
2. List 3 things you love about yourself.
3. Post a picture you love on your blog.
4. Pass the award on to 5 other bloggers.

So here goes:-

3 things I love:-

* My family
* My very own craft/sewing room, that’s slowly getting to where I really want it to be.
* Chocolate :-)

Here’s a pic that I love:-

Coincidentally, I was going to post this pic today w/ the caption:- “Where’s Bailey?” (as in Where’s Waldo?). He completely blends into the blankie that he’s snuggled up in. It just warms my heart to see him so content and happy ---- him knowing and loving the fact that this is his “forever home”!! :-)

Now, to pass this award on to 5 other bloggers, whom I think are totally deserving of this award. Their creations, and sharing of same, are awesome!

Audrey - http://cuteandsome.blogspot.com/
Jen - http://jensbrainthings.blogspot.com/
Sharon - http://craftroomtransformation.blogspot.com/
Theresa - http://binkyblossoms.blogspot.com/
Wende - http://passionatelypaper.blogspot.com/

Happy Chinese New Year!

Craftroom Clean-up, Chapter 2, Day 2

Hiya! Well, I managed to clean out underneath and in front of the table. You can see markings on the carpet where some boxes had previously been. :-) So now hubby can fold down the table and put it in the basement or garage, where it used to be. :-)

I should be getting my computer station tomorrow. Yeah!!! But hubby can't put it together for me until the week-end. This will give me some time to go thru the "stuff" that had accumulated underneath. It's mainly OLD craft supplies. I'll probably donate some of it to a Senior's Centre.

That plastic "white thingie" underneath some craft binders is a garbage can that I had grandioso plans of jazzing up w/ rub-ons, but I never got around to it. :-) Probably don't even know where those rub-ons ended up. LOL



As an added treat, I thought I would show you what's been hiding in my corner cabinet. I don't think I've ever shown that on my blog before. It's mainly dedicated to my "sewing" paraphernalia.

Can't wait until everything is in its place. Wish I could be like the "Bewitched" gal and wiggle my nose for it to happen. LOL But, seeing as that's not a "happenin' thing", I'll have to do it all myself. Each day I'll do a li'l bit and, before you know it, it will look like a half decent craft/sewing room. Hey, I managed to do it last year so this should be no different. Right???!!! LOL I'm just still very thankful that I actually have a craft/sewing room. For years, I didn't

And. . . . here's the moral to the story:- If "I" can do it ---- YOU can, too. Keep in mind that this is a verrrrrrry teeney tiny room and I've managed to jam a lot of stuff in there. I'll see if I can update my room layout picture. Here's the kicker, tho:- I can't remember what program I used to create it, in the first place. Good one, eh? LOL

Here's the old picture:-


It's changed quite a bit. Since then, I've added my Cricut Work Station and Cricut Revolving Rack.

Does this "room layout" picture look familiar to you? Would you happen to know where I might've found it on the Net? I wish I would've bookmarked it, but I didn't. :-(

No computer desk!!

Well, hubby didn't come home w/ the computer desk I wanted. BooooHoooo! He felt that, when he took it apart, he wouldn't be able to put it back together again because of the screws that had been used on it --- that they would rip the areas. He also thought it didn't have a very good stabilizer on the bottom. The gal that had it actually had to buy another unit because of this issue --- her printer and/or CPU station wouldn't sit properly on it. I didn't want to use the bottom for a printer/CPU, but just to store some plastic shoebox storage units. But hubby knows best and decided against it. Of course I was pretty upset. But. . . . . . he said that I could buy a new one!! And. . . . . Staples has a "clearance" on this item so, for $50.00 more, I'm getting a brand spankin' new one, which has a better bottom to it. Yippppeeeee!!! Awesome hubby, eh? :-)



Here's a pic of it:

The one I almost got didn't have the partition areas, which also act as a stabilizer. It just had a narrow slat going across at the back; hence, not much stabilization.

And, yeh, I know --- it's not "white" like most of my other craft/sewing furniture. But, I have a maple colored flip-top desk and small cart that I use for my Cricut Station. And. . . beggars can't be choosers! LOL This unit doesn't come in "white"; otherwise, I would've grabbed it. :-)

Soooo, I get to continue re-arranging, purging today. But it's a gorgeous day (have been few and far between) so Bailey and I will definitely be taking advantage of it. Cleaning goes on the "back burner". LOL

Have a great day!!! :-)