Candle Lamps Revisited

Our get together began with Kristy giving Stacy the copies of the Pelican Photos she liked so much.

Then there was lunch, broccoli salad which of course Kristy did not even try since it was after all a vegetable. Stacy and I enjoyed it though and the new recipes I tried were keepers, Cordon Bleu Appetizers from Taste of Home and Rocky Road courtesy of A Creative Dreamer.

We decided to revisit the Candle Lamps so Stacy could make hers and because I found Halloween paper which Kristy and I wanted to try. We missed Nikki today but college takes priority. This is Stacy's first try and she is HOOKED!

Kristy started with a fall design that is very cute.

Her first Halloween one came out like my first apple one - upside down. We both thought it did not look directional but turned out it was.

We got better though. Check out the wiggle eyes on this one. Stacy's spiders also had wiggle eyes if you can see them.

Family Tree Service

Many of my neighbors have been losing branches and even entire trees lately no doubt aided by this drought and it was my turn.

I noticed this broken branch as I was leaving for my mother's three weeks ago so when I returned I asked my family to remove it for me.

I am not sure if you can see it in this photo but there are lights on the brick gate posts one of which was in direct line with this branch.

Therefore this removal required redirecting the branch. My son did this by first tossing a monkey's fist over the branch.

Here he is pulling down the rope. You can see the lights better here too.

As he used the knot tying he learned from his dad and in the scouts he was being watched by a very concerned squirrel who later leapt from the roof onto the other tree for a better seat.

All rigged up and tension applied by moving his pickup forward a bit.

The branch was still hung up on a smaller branch from the tree the squirrel was perched in. Hope he was staying higher up. So a little trimming of that branch...

another gentle tug, and down she came, missing the light - thank goodness!

My son left the cleanup for my grandson and his friend who arrived after work. I intended to photograph them as well but they finished by the time I got out there. I was pleased though that I was able to find a saw made in America when I went to get one for them. Isn't it sad that that is so rare these days that it makes my day?

Candle Lamps

Here is the surprise craft from yesterday!

Supplies needed:

wine glass

battery tea light

scrap booking paper (we used double sided)

double sided tape

pattern from

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/crafts/candle-lampshade-craft

decorative scissors, rhinestones etc. optional

First we traced the pattern onto double sided scrapbooking paper.

Next we cut them out using regular scissors and some decorative edging scissors.

Then came the fun decorating part. Lots of rhinestones went into these beauties!

Don't these make lovely night lights?

And so pretty during the daytime too.

Crafting Together

It seems like I have been wanting to have some friends and family over for crafts and food for years but my house was never clean enough or some other silly reason. I finally decided Erma was right. Just do it. Invite them over. Have some fun. Do it now! So I did.

I invited my daughter and granddaughter and a friend of ours over for lunch and a surprise craft. Turns out they were as excited as I was. Unfortunately at the last minute our friend had to cancel. I think she is really sorry.

It was just a simple light lunch of chicken salad sandwiches and Ambrosia Salad. (Note to self - Nikki doesn't like coconut. How did I not know that?)

And fresh lemonade to drink.

We ended with chocolate cupcakes. Gotta have that chocolate! Did you notice the milk glass dishes on the table to not match? Erma Brombeck would be proud of me. I did not let the lack of a perfectly set table stop me. Martha Stewart could take a lesson from Erma. Life is short. Enjoy the people in your life now! Don't wait for the perfect time/setting.

After clearing the table it was time to get started. They did not have a clue as to what craft I had planned for them.

Oh and if you look close you can see that we moved Stacy's chair over and brought up the stool. The white one with the CUTE boots. Since Stacy did not make it we decided to let Darlene take her place. But Darlene lives in California so we would just let her fiddlestick (see the Aug 9th Flat Stanley goes 3D post) fill in for her. Just one little problem. My daughter and I took 'Darlene' to California with us and I found the CUTEST boots out there but not everything fit in our suitcases so 'Darlene' got shipped home. (The real Darlene is such a good sport. She understood just how important those CUTE boots were to me!) And UPS hasn't delivered the boxes yet so we let the CUTE boots fill in. So I guess Stacy 'got the boot'. HMMMM So glad my friends are understanding.

But as to the craft session which was the whole point of this day, you'll just have to check back tomorrow to see what the surprise was.

Fun with my granddaughter

My number one granddaughter loves making these fleece blankets and wanted to do one for her cousin (my new grand-baby). Isn't it adorable?

She does it all herself although I help her pin the pieces together. I figure that's only fair since she helps me pin baste my quilts! Then we sit and watch our favorite show while I crochet and she ties. Making memories.

Flat Stanley goes 3D

Have you seen a flat Stanley? Like a modern paper doll it is frequently used by teachers and the students send them to be photographed in far away locations. Well here is my version using fiddlesticks. Well, my version of fiddlesticks. The two dimensional cloth heads just seemed too flat. So I used a wooden bead instead and substituted pipe cleaners for the florist wire inside the fabric tubes to make them softer, rounder and well, less flat looking.

I debated adding doll hair and painting on faces but decided I preferred to personalize them in other ways. While they are actually all the same length segments I alternated the dark/solid portions to give a sense of varied heights and found cute hats. I can see a lot of fun accessorizing if a person wanted to.

These photos show 'me' with different 'friends'. HA. This is great for my camera shy side!

Hemming Drapes

I finally had time to hem these drapes for my son. Several months ago we ordered them for an unbelievable price. Well worth having to hem them! Yes, I know they were clearanced because pinch pleated thermal drapes are out of style. But my son is somewhat old fashioned and definitely practical. Good for him.

Out of the six windows only the living room actually fit. The bedroom windows all needed to be shortened and by splitting panels in half I was able to use one set for two smaller windows. Less money = more work. But did mention what a bargain they were?

Now that I finished hemming them and my dog finished inspecting them, (he could not see what I was up to on the sewing table), it is on my son to buy new curtain rods and take down the old to hang all new window treatments. Trust me they needed replacing. Meanwhile, I have been watching for the steamers to go back on sale again as I missed the last sale by an hour! The living room drapes have been hanging for a few months and most of the wrinkles have come out but a good steaming should take care of the stubborn creases.

Another project completed!

Mail's in

And who doesn't love getting mail from a friend or family? I try to make a new set of cards each week and send one to my mom and save the rest to send to special friends when I write to them. Yes, write. I still send letters and cards. Call me old fashioned. But not too loudly. I started texting with my new phone last week! Whoo Hoo!

I am not sure if you can see it or not but the white on the previous cards was embossed and there was a 2" x 12" strip left over so I cut it in half and added solid pink card-stock to the back, rounded the corners and punched a hole in the top. That was the easy part. Trying to remember how to tat these flowers with beads took hours and digging through numerous, baskets and tubs looking for beads and books. I found my notes right off but they assumed I remembered how and were just design specific... Hmmmm it has obviously been too long since I tatted. I need to work on that! Anyway, I think they made pretty bookmarks. If I had intended to include them with the cards I would have used a yellow variegated thread and yellow beads and backing.

This is the other card. Can anyone tell me a trick for rotating the photo on here? Darn. Anyway, this card is twice as large as the other one so I can send photos. I am anticipating lots of baby photos. LOL

Surprise!

This new coffee table was waiting for me when I returned home from my trip.

I was so surprised! I can't believe my kids and grandchildren and even my brother kept it from me. You see this Pepperwood burl slab has been in my garage, (in fact has been moved several times) for years. It was a gift from my dad. But it was rough cut from the mill and I had not found someone I trusted to finish it.

Well, my son snuck it out of the garage a year ago! Not easy considering it takes at least two men to lift it! Then had it in his garage covered with a tarp. (I even asked what it was once!) Boy, am I gullible! And needless to say, I really need to clean out that garage since I did not even miss it!

At any rate he used a hand sander and did an amazing job on it. I sure wish I had pictures from before! Then even finishing it was tricky with our high humidity and abundance of mosquitoes. Can't you just picture him hovering over it with tweezers for half an hour after each coat picking out any bug reckless enough to fall into the still tacky polyurethane?

You can't see the base in these photos but years ago I had bought a glass topped table hoping to use the base for this slab. I am actually quite glad to have the glass gone but I love the table so much I still haven't put anything on it.

I was so surprised! And feel so very loved!

This 4th of July

Here is my quick salute to the 4th.

After being gone for a couple of months I got home just in time to come down with the 'crud'. I officially was no longer contagious when my granddaughter made her appearance about a week early. So needless to say I have been very slowly getting through my mail and just generally catching up.

Did I mention it is hot? Hardly needs mentioning since most of the country is in the throes of July. Consequently not a lot of baking going on here. Fortunately the peppermint cake that I always make my number one granddaughter also makes a loaf size angel food cake that I freeze. So thawed that baby out and spread some quick frosting with sprinkles and I managed to pull off something just for today.

Now it is time to cut a slice and settle down in front of the TV to watch the Freedom Over Texas celebration in the comfort of my A/C!