Our Wonderful News & Some Craftiness

The excitement of my daughter being pregnant brings such joy to my heart.  I almost cannot contain it!  Now the excitement has mounted with the anticipation of finding out if we are having a boy or a girl. Having heard that first heart beat early in Holly’s pregnancy was the ultimate thrill of knowing "this is real" !!  Now it’s become even more real…being able to put a persona with this baby, imagining what he or she will look like….and of course the Name they will be given!

Well the time has come and we now know…..

 A precious baby Girl!  I am totally giddy and either one would have been fine…we are just so proud of having a baby!

I have been so busy since I found out and I’m also going to be broke!  There is nothing like buying for little girls!  Pinks, ruffles, lacey, cutesy, frou-frou, and all dolled up with sweetness and charm!  I love it!

First up I made this banner for her room…

 It will probably hang from her crib. 

It involved this:

 and this

Cricut Machine Cutting 

 Painting

and Papering...

And yes I cut these circles out on my daddy’s 55+ year old scroll saw…all by myself!!  Yes I did!  Well…all but the letters, they came from Hobby Lobby! They were then hand painted, papered, and put together to form this cute, if I may say so myself, banner!  From the velvet ribbon to the pearly balls and the pink tulle that holds it all in place.  

 Next up are some of the cutest baby baprons *baby apron* I have ever seen!  They are practical and so easy to sew up in no time.  This baby will not lack of a bib!  You can find the instructions here:

*click on the photo*

Here are mine so far:

This one is made from an old quilt!  Too bad it didn't have much Pink!

I have gone crazy making these and I’m not finished yet….the really cute ones are to come…these were my practice pieces!

There’s more to come in my crafty ways, when I will show you the mobile that will hang over the baby’s bed.  It matches the bedding theme and required some more scroll saw cutting, papers, sticks, wings, and flowers…..hum mm, got you wondering huh?  I will also introduce our little one to you by her name!

In A Pickle

Sticky sweet and spicy pickles…Oh so yummy good.  We had so many cucumbers from our garden that I just had to make these.  It only takes 10 days to make them but it is oh so worth it!!  No cooking involved.

Nope…not at all….easy peasy!

Homemade Sweet Pickles

Here's the tried and true recipe that I use each year

Try it if you like:

Homemade Sweet Pickles

This is a no cook 10 day recipe~

Approx. 5 gallons of cucumbers, sliced

1 cup salt

3 oz. alum

1 gallon of apple cider vinegar

5 lbs sugar

Pickling spices

On your kitchen counter in a very large bowl soak the cucumbers for 3 days in the salt. Jot down the time of day and do each step at the same time each day. On the 3^rd full day rinse off the cucumbers in water three times.

Add 3 oz. alum and cover with water completely and stir. Soak for 2 days. On the 2^nd full day rinse off with water 2 times.

Add 1 gallon of apple cider vinegar and soak for 2 days.  On the 2^nd full day rinse off with water 2 times.

Add 5 lbs. sugar and pickling spices which have been bundled up in cheese cloth. Do NOT add water!  Soak for 3 days, stir each day.  Put into jars on the 3rd full day, with the spices and keep refrigerated.  This makes enough pickles that you will be willing to share with others!

***************

I finished the cover for my new grandbaby’s high chair over the weekend….it turned out so so cute!!  I have to share “flat” photos with you as the high chair is in Jacksonville at Holly’s house. 

Here it is with its cute polka dotted ruffle! Love it.

I will share a photo later with it set up in her kitchen which is decorated in these colors! Speaking of colors...the color in the photos is awful.  The colors are a true red, aqua and white!  Really pretty!

This was definitely a challenge for me…I had a pattern; the old cover which I took apart and used to cut by…but I had no instructions!  Ha…I had to think and think hard about how this went together…but it all turned out great…I did not have to rip any seams!! I didn't get into a pickle with this project...Yay! 
On  another note...I will not have to make the bedding for the antique cradle as I found what I needed already made.  A flat changing table pad fits perfect for the mattress which I will add one layer of something underneath for a little more cushion.  The bumper pad I found in the minky dot fabric…it is about 18” too long so I will have to make that adjustment.  I also found sheets that fit and all of this is in the ecru color for that antique heirloom look.  It is so pretty!!

My hubby, Jackie, the proud “Pa” to be, has been busy working on redoing a rocking chair for Holly to rock the baby in. 

It is solid and I do mean solid, so heavy that I cannot pick it up. 

The "before" photo looks really bad....he has been taking the varnish off by doing some sanding so that we can paint it white.  I will then have the pleasure of making a cushion to match.  The "after" photo will come later! 

Things are coming together in our  "grand baby plans", with still lots to do before December.  We also will find out this week if it’s going to be pink or blue; girl or boy!! 

I am so excited that I am about to bust!  This will lead to the painting of the baby’s room which I will go and do sometime later in the month.  Holly has been busy trying to pick out the crib bedding that she likes.  Richard said she has a new one picked for him to see every day!  She is really believing that they will be having a girl, not that it matters at all, but just has that feeling…you know..fast heart rate...etc!  I guess we will see this week!  Either way they are ready and are so happy!  I am so ready and so happy too!

Here is a picture of the cute apron my niece got me for my birthday! 

I love it!!  Thank you Cassidy!

Oh and by the way...don’t overlook my give away in my previous post.  After you comment here, come back and click here and follow the instructions to enter before the 19^th of August!  Good luck and I hope you enjoy the pickles!

In The Heat of Summer

 I am back from a lengthy visit with my daughter Holly and hubby Richard.   We spent days elbow deep in paint….I’ll have pictures later of her freshly painted formal dining room.  We also did a little shopping and eating…a pregnant girl gets hungry quite often…haha…not me, Holly, who is going on 20 weeks!  My 13 year old niece made the trip with me and we all enjoyed the beach at St. Augustine and a wild water park on another day.  I’m getting too old for that kind of stuff and the sun is just out of my league now.  I actually got quite a bit of sun on the beach with 30 and 50 SPF sunscreens, while sitting under an umbrella!  Gosh what would have I looked like if I had not done that?  I fear a visit to the ER would have been in order!  And the spot on my left leg where I failed to get any sunscreen…well you can only imagine what it looked like…it stayed swelled for about a week!! No kidding! It is starting to peel today!

Holly picked the fabric for the new cover I will be making for their baby’s high chair…It is neither boy or girl related but will match her kitchen!  Aqua, white, and red!  

This willl be the ruffle trim around the cover!

These items of fabric were purchased from sewdeerlyloved Etsy shop!

 It is too cute…wish me luck in sewing this project!  I’ll let you know how it turns out!

My veggie garden is on a slowdown…just too HOT this time of year!  But we have enjoyed fresh white peas, tomatoes, plenty of okra which is still making, bell peppers, onions, English peas, cucumbers like crazy, and potatoes. We are planning to plant a fall crop *wow crop sounds BIG* of more English peas, rutabagas, and collards.  A little something all year to keep us fed!  I’m on my second batch of homemade pickles right now…it’s a week long process! I was also able to obtain some fresh figs from my SIL with which I eat a pile of and the rest I made into preserves!  Now this is a common thing here in the southern part of the south!  A homemade buttermilk biscuit, buttered while hot, with a fig preserve is divine!  Yep…wish I could share with you all!

Its review time again…yep another Gooseberry Patch cookbook review of what’s cooking!  I will be sharing at least 3 recipes I have hand-picked from one of their latest new books.  You will also get the chance to pre-order this book at a discount before it hits the store shelves.  There will also be a give-away in my review for one lucky winner!  So stay tuned and look for this review coming up soon!  I have one more recipe to make and then I will be ready!

I hope you all are enjoying your summer, hot as it is…I have missed being here and sharing with you…but as you know life has a way of taking us away from our hobbies and past time pleasures.  Life gives us more of the things we need at certain times, more challenges, more opportunities, more experiences, and more excitement. We must take those times and live, learn, laugh, and of course LOVE it, making memories all the while!

So Sew Talented

i love photography

creative imaging
craftiness
my artistic abilities
a means of self expression
i love to sew, to piece together
paint…
to create
to repurpose
design
have a vision
use my imagination…

19/30 Today I am grateful for my creativeness and talents.

Today I am also thankful for beautiful people who give away beautiful things. Yes, I have won another give-away…lucky me! This one comes from Renee over at Sewn with Grace. She is an avid quilter, child of God, lover of pink and all things vintage! She has given away her entire stash of fabric scraps.

WOW oh wow…and they are beautiful…pinks, greens, creams, blues…all my favorite colors. I still can’t believe she parted with these as there are some pretty big pieces in this huge bag!

She also included a hand towel suited for stitchery and some of the cutest iron on transfers! Sorry you guys missed out on this prize!! I’m not really a quilter, have started a few but never finished, but I do love small projects…piecing together these lovely colors into something pretty will be fun. Can’t wait to get started! Thank you Renee. Please go over and visit with her, you will find something you like!

Enjoy your very own talent and share it with us all!

For the love of

Nothing like it!

Pet-Sitting 101

Pet Sitting .....It’s hard work…I’m telling you. I run around after these 5 animals all day long ….

They are a hand full...

They are always into something, making a mess, not listening to anything I say! Purring too loud…no discipline at all!

And they never ever want to take a nap!!!

Seriously….if you ever find yourself pet-sitting at the pet’s house…bring something to do! A project you are working on, knitting, sewing; bring a good book and some movies….it’s quite boring if you don’t have something to do!

I just finished watching Mad Money!  *because its raining outside…again!*

 Now if you haven’t seen this hilarious movie…go rent it! And who would have thought up such a crime…its full of funny! "Money can’t buy you happiness but it sure can buy everything else!"  Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes…all goofy and clever in their quest to become criminals LOL.
A movie only lasts approximately 2 hours…so on to the next project. Sewing again. After completing the camera strap cover, I had extra material so I made a rice bag…What’s a rice bag good for? An achy back, crick-in-the-neck-pain, and cramps, just naming a few. Oh, and cold feet come to mind right now! These bags are heated up in the microwave for 3 minutes and man oh man…they are wonderful.

They really hold the heat for a long time and certainly more economical than an electric heating pad.
They are easy to make. Go see Darby at Fly Through Our Window for her easy tutorial and instructions.

Still having some fabric left….I made this:

A pot holder! Doing some more of my swirly work!

Plus I hate paying $5.00 for a pretty pot holder! Cute huh?

What next? Who knows……I can’t wait until Holly and Richard return from Miami….3 more days…..

and we are going out for some good seafood! YaY!

I forgot to tell them I get paid by the hour….

Let’s see that’s 10 days…24/7+3=a whole heck of a lot of Mad Money for me!

Cha-ching!

Take care and Happy Sunday tomorrow…until we visit again my friends

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ

that a man should have to seek Him first to find her."

~unknown~

~Sweet~