I am not a slug

I have been busy, just not busy blogging.
I bought this little beauty on the day after Thanksgiving from the comfort of my recliner. I just opened it up yesterday and have been playing with it a little.
I am super excited about trying some vinyl, but couldn't find any locally and had to order it
online.

I went out shopping on my own for the first time since the accident (Walmart and Michael's) and think I over did it just a little. It is very frustrating to not be as mobile as I would like.
I am better, it is just taking forever.

I have been decorating very slowly and will have some pics soon. We also got a new cast iron wood stove. Our only source of heat before now has been an electric furnace and we are very excited about the power savings , the beauty of the stove, and the ambiance of a fire on a chilly day. I will have the stove and my beautiful mantle ready soon.


O K so this post is going to be rambling and a little disjointed. Stick with me. This is the new sleeve for my laptop as well as a drawstring bag for my mouse and power cord. I love it. I made it out of and old sweatshirt. Basically I laid the sweatshirt out flat, put my laptop on top and drew a line about 1/2 inch out. I made the "open" back end extra long so that it could be folded in. I sewed up three sides, folded over the open end top stitched, and voila a fabulous lap top sleeve.
My draw string bag is the sleeve turned side ways, with the bottom sewed shut. The top of the bag has and extra wide hem with a small hole on the inside to accommodate the drawstring from the hood .

Finally I have been doing some embroidery. I can also do that from the comfort of my recliner.

I'm off to lunch with my co-workers today. It will be fun to have some girl time and touch base with these wonderful women. ( I work in a Tax office January to April 15). I am also determined to do some decorating. Have a great Thursday and I promise to post again soon.

Pam

Thanksgiving Decor

I usually decorate for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Fall, but this year things have been different. I couldn't get my decorations out of the garage storage room this year on my crutches, and really wasn't up to putting things up anyway, but lately I have been feeling better. I had a few things stored in the linen closet and was feeling inspired by all the other great blogs out there.
Craftily Ever After has this great Keep Calm printable that I printed out and framed in my 40% off Michael's frame.

I got this great plate at the goodwill months ago and it looks great with this vintage turkey printed on card stock. (Sorry about the smudged glass )

I stitched this from a coloring page that I got off the Internet on a linen napkin. It turned out great, and I love it. Im sorry I don't know where it came from. Coloring pages can make great pattern for embroidery.

It looks great on top of the TV with a pumpkin candle and an Owl.

I also whipped out this Give Thanks Banner from At Second Street.

Thank you all you wonderful bloggers out there and have a wonderful Sunday evening .

Pam

Halloween Project

So here is a preview of my latest project. Its time to start those Halloween projects.
I have beaten the Chaos in my life down to an acceptable level and have moved on to more creative endeavors. I had a brain storm about a pillow collection for my home and the Etsy store, so I ran down to my local quilting store for some fabulous fabric.
I love decorating for Halloween. We don't really do any thing for Halloween. My kids are to old to Trick or Treat and my country location has never attracted any Trick or Treaters,(I do have plenty of candy on hand just in case) but I love the decorating. My tradition has been to put in the classic Bell, Book and Candle and fill my home with Fall and Halloween decor. Harvest decor also part of this farm family's traditions.
Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the crisp weather, making soup,changing leaves and the end of a busy farm and summer season. Fall is my down time before I gear up for tax season. It is the time we take family vacations, do home improvement projects and the time that my husband and I have the most alone time.

So here I sit sweating at the sewing machine, remembering to enjoy the last busy days of summer and looking forward to Fall, Harvest and Halloween.

Another Dish Towel

Here is another towel for the soon to be opened Etsy shop. I am not being as creatively productive as I had hoped, but stuff is getting done.

We had a great time with Mom here, it seems like we always think we can do more than we have time for, but it was a really fun rush.

Daniel (my son) weighed in his pig for the fair. I am his 4 H leader and I really enjoy all the kids in my club and their animals. Our Fair is the first of August and Daniel and the other kids are all busy making sure their pigs are well fed, have plenty of fresh water, and spending time with their animals, learning their personalities and working on their showmanship skills. I look forward to fair every year and this year it looks like all my kids are on track to do well and have a great time.

Dish Towel

Here is on of my first dish towel for my Etsy inventory. I am very happy with it and am excited about this new enterprise, however since I announced that I would be open for business in July, I have had several moments of pure panic. I know that many of you out there have Etsy shops and blog regularly and you are my heroes. I am struggling ( with myself only) with giving myself time to blog and create, I think its because I am enjoying it so much. As you know from my earlier post I am not always the most organized super homemaker, and I have a little anxiety about this. Sometimes I feel like I am having too much fun and not being responsible enough. I know, I know ,what a silly girl, I need to embrace the fun and the many wonderful gifts in my life and stop trying to deserve them. Thank you Lord for not always giving me what I deserve. So, I am off to be creative and enjoy it for awhile and then be responsible for a while and then creative again. Gosh I have a great life, and so do you! Let's all enjoy Sunday !

Vintage Re-purpose

My newest creation, a small vintage dresser scarf turned into a lavender sachet/eye mask. I folded it in half stitched up both sides, loosely filled with lavender and rice then stiched all the way around. I love the way it turned out, and will make a nice addition to my bedside table or as inventory for the etsy shop I hope to have up by July.
I picked the dresser scarf up at the Goodwill As Is store, and loved the hand embroidery. My Goodwill As Is store is a great resource for vintage linens, especially linens I can feel good about re-purposing. Linens with holes or stains that can be worked around. One of my passions is vintage linens, but I can only display so many tablecloths, and dresser scarves. I love to find new and creative ways to use more of them in my decore. Its fun and creative and I so love the hunt for raw materials. What have you re-purposed lately ?
Pam