Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Snowflake Coaster - Free Pattern
Snowflake Coaster Pattern - click "Download Now" link to get pattern.
This snowflake can also be made out of worsted weight acrylic yarn and used as a Christmas tree ornament. :)
This snowflake can also be made out of worsted weight acrylic yarn and used as a Christmas tree ornament. :)
Friday, November 26, 2010
Sweet Swans
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We celebrated the day at my parent's house, and had a great family time, with lots of good food. My mom always makes everyone up a bag of yummy leftovers to take home, so we'll still be eating good for a few days more. :)
This is a picture my dad took the other day. He was taking pictures of a black swan, which you don't see too often, and was also to capture this pair of swans making the heart shape with their necks. I thought this was really sweet!
This is a picture my dad took the other day. He was taking pictures of a black swan, which you don't see too often, and was also to capture this pair of swans making the heart shape with their necks. I thought this was really sweet!
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| Black Swan |
Monday, November 22, 2010
Peppermint Parade Christmas Ornaments - New Pattern in Etsy Shop
This is a fun set to stitch, and I had a whole lot of fun designing them. I've spent the past few weeks with crochet hook in hand, and buried in surrounded by red and white yarn. Besides making snowmen, one of my other favorites are things with peppermints or peppermint colors. There's just something about that red & white combination that I love, especially this time of year. :) Pattern is available in my etsy shop .
Friday, November 19, 2010
Gus and Grace....Keeping Warm!
With the colder temps these days, the cats are on the look-out for warm and cozy spots. Gus knows a good thing when he sees it, and seems to have an instant radar anytime I take a load of warm towels out of the dryer. I managed to fold only one towel before he hi-jacked this pile and settled in for a nap.
The one towel I did manage to fold caught his attention as soon as he woke from his nap. He knew there had to be a way to get inside, and he kept nudging it with his nose until he could crawl inside. Why?, I don't know, but he appeared to be pleased at having accomplished his mission. :)
Grace, on the other hand is fascinated with the fireplace. This was the first we've had it on since we got her, and she seemed spell-bound. She sat there just staring at it for a very long time. I don't think she's quite figured out what it is, but she does seem to like it. :)
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| Now if he could only learn to help fold them after he's done napping on them. |
The one towel I did manage to fold caught his attention as soon as he woke from his nap. He knew there had to be a way to get inside, and he kept nudging it with his nose until he could crawl inside. Why?, I don't know, but he appeared to be pleased at having accomplished his mission. :)
Grace, on the other hand is fascinated with the fireplace. This was the first we've had it on since we got her, and she seemed spell-bound. She sat there just staring at it for a very long time. I don't think she's quite figured out what it is, but she does seem to like it. :)
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| "Wow, it's pretty and WARM" |
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Winter Coaster - Free Pattern
The weather's getting colder, and winter will be here before we know it (Darn it!) As I was designing and working up this coaster, the blue and white combination made me think of snow and winter, hence the name. It's made using a strand of cotton yarn and a strand of crochet cotton thread together. I also made it up in a red/white and green/white combination. The red/white combo looks like peppermint to me and a set of the red/white and green/white would make a cute set of Christmasy coasters. Click "download now" link below to get pattern.
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| Blue/White Winter Coaster |
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| Red/White Coaster |
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| Green/White Coaster |
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Andy......Former Runt of the Litter
This is Andy. He is a Ragdoll cat and belongs to my parents. I love this little guy a lot, and I've often threatened to kidnap him and take him home with me. I have some kinks to work out on that plan though, since my parents know where I live and if he were ever missing, my house would be the first place they would check. Andy is one of the most beautiful cats I've ever seen, with gorgeous blue eyes (I love his eyes so much that I use a photo of them as the banner photo in my etsy shop). He also has a sweet, gentle, laid back personality. My parents got him in Nov 2004, and he was the runt of his litter and very tiny. That's hard to believe seeing him now, because he is BIG, about 15 lbs. The vet says he's not fat though, he's just really tall. :) I was going thru a box of pictures the other day and found this photo of Andy shortly after my parents got him, so I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of then and now.
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| Baby Andy |
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| Andy all grown up |
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| Andy with the pretty blue eyes. :) |
Monday, November 8, 2010
Fall Decorating...
My mom made this very cute fall pumpkin decoration for her front door. It's actually a double-sided decoration. It's made with felt, and one side has a Halloween pumpkin face, and the other side has leaves and curly pipe cleaners. After Halloween, she simply turned the pumpkin around and filled with dried flowers for a fall decoration that will take her through Thanksgiving. She wants to make a Snowman door decoration next, and I'm thinking I need to make one of those too! :)
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| Fall Pumpkin Door Decoration |
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| Halloween Pumpkin (other side of Fall Pumpkin) |
Thursday, November 4, 2010
New Pattern in Etsy Shop - Snowman Potholder
I love making snowmen! (but only out of yarn, not actual snow) :) This little guy was a lot of fun to design because his expression can have a variety of looks just by changing the placement of the eyes and mouth. On the red hat version, I held a strand of size 10 crochet cotton thread along with the yarn to give the hat a tweed effect. Pattern is available in my etsy shop.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Happy Birthday Mom!!!
Today is my mom's birthday and she is a very special lady. Not only is she a great mother, she's my best crafting buddy! We spend a lot of time together working on all kinds of projects, and she's always game for trying something new. She also has crazy good sewing skills, which come in very handy when I get in over my head on some of my projects. :)
My mom was only 17 years old when her own mother passed away, so I never knew my grandmother. A few weeks ago, my mom was looking thru an old cookbook and a recipe card fell out. It was for a Mayo Cake, and it was written out by my grandmother. My mom was kind enough to give it to me, and I'm thrilled to have this recipe in my grandmother's handwriting. My mom said she made this cake many times when she was young, and since green was her favorite color (and still is), she always iced it with green frosting. So in honor of her birthday I used the recipe to make Mayo Cupcakes with green frosting. :)
Happy Birthday MOM! I love you!
My mom was only 17 years old when her own mother passed away, so I never knew my grandmother. A few weeks ago, my mom was looking thru an old cookbook and a recipe card fell out. It was for a Mayo Cake, and it was written out by my grandmother. My mom was kind enough to give it to me, and I'm thrilled to have this recipe in my grandmother's handwriting. My mom said she made this cake many times when she was young, and since green was her favorite color (and still is), she always iced it with green frosting. So in honor of her birthday I used the recipe to make Mayo Cupcakes with green frosting. :)
Happy Birthday MOM! I love you!
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| Happy Birthday Mom! |
Mayo Cake Recipe:
1 c. sugar
1 c. mayonnaise
2 c. flour
1 c. warm water
4 T cocoa
2 scant tsp soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
Moderate Oven (I baked at 350)
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| Happy Birthday Grandma! (YOUR daughter just woke us up for this!) |