JAMBO!!!

...THAT'S 'HELLO' IN SWAHILI! Something I learned at the Vacation Bible School at our church this week! Which is why I've been MIA!

It's the first one we've ever had and it's going wonderfully! 60+ kids! Oh, and guess who is in charge of crafts??? Yep...me! It's fun and I have alot of helpers....I'm not an incharge person so it's safe to say we work as a team and have a blast every night with the kids. Everything is animal themed of course, even the snacks. Most of it was from Oriental Trading and is foam (NOT THE SNACKS, SILLY)...animal necklaces, animal bookmarkers, animal magnets. Tonight will be visors with names and maybe stickers and tomorrow will be animal frames with their pictures in them. I discovered the value of glue dots also. I told one little girl that when people sneeze, they can save the contents (boogies) and put them in an envelope to send to the glue factory to make the glue dots....come on....you know that's funny!!! (don't worry, she knew it wasn't true!)
Needless to say, my Etsy Shop won't have it's Grand Opening now till next week and my crafts have been laid aside for the week. Luckily I'm doing some at church so I'm not in craft/stitching withdrawal yet.
So, yinz guys, hope ya don't miss me too much and I'll be back next week! So, till next time.....JAMBO!!!

Sitting pretty....

....how cute is this!!! This is my great nephew Owen as a Sitting Pretty Figure. He's holding a button truck by the way...trucks are his favorite thing in the world. You can even make your pet with this technique....I may have to make his pet cats next. My niece sent me the MARTHA STEWART CRAFT OF THE DAY and I told her I was going to make one tonight. She just didn't know it would be her son...SURPRISE!!! They are super easy and fun....definately going to make more of these! Enjoy! Till next time, yinz crazy guys...SIT PRETTY!!

Happy 4th, Yinz Guys....

Happy First Anniversay!

As you go towards your future,.........

...........never forget this picture, my son, of scooping up your beautiful bride and carrying her out towards the waves. Set this image in your mind.....of you protecting her and holding her close to you, fighting the waves and keeping her high and most important in your life...letting yourself be washed by the water before you would ever let anything touch her. And my beautiful daughter-in-law...always keep your eyes focused on your groom....holding him tight and even tho he may stumble in the sand, forever believe that he will never let you go. Most important, remember that the light of God will always be there to shine on you....He will always be at your back when the waves are too high and the water is too cold.....protecting you and keeping you safe when you let Him light the way and warm the waters. Happy First Anniversary...I love you both so much!!!

Just in case you miss me...

.....I'm vacationing HERE.....

...OH, SORRY....I mean HERE.....

Till next time, yinz crazy guys......

BRRRRRRR......

.....GLOBAL WARMING????....HOGWASH!!!
Sweetie Man was out in his car the other day and saw this sign while down in the Baltimore area in Maryland!!! He said he actually swung his car around in rush hour traffic just to take a picture of it!!!! I don't know what was crazier....the sign or the fact that he went back to take a picture!!!!!
Till next time, yinz crazy guys......stay cool (but not that cool!)

Warning....

IF YOU ARE REALLY REALLY AFRAID OF MONSTERS....YOU MAY WANT TO THINK TWICE BEFORE VIEWING THIS FIRST PICTURE........

.....you okay???? My great nephew cried when he saw it....we laughed. By the end of the weekend tho, they were buddies! This is ZORB FLIPWIT and if you want to make a Knit Wit of your own, just visit the Little Miss Match site and the instructions and a birth certificate for printing are there. I found my socks at the dollar store but you can certainly purchse them from this site along with alot of other cool things. Check it out!!

Next are some cool dotees I received on some recent swaps on Swap-bot. First off is the "dotee with a mousetache". My partner saw that I loved butterflies so this was perfect for me. It made me laugh with the floss mousetache.

Next is the "clown dotee" I love charms and this has a bunch in the hair and a clown charm on the very end below the buttons. So cute!!

Next is the first in the"Wizard of Oz" Dotee. This one has legs which is cool and they are hooked together with beads that read "scarecrow". I love the diploma in his hand!!!

I received my first "icicle dotee" also. OMG...this one made me laugh when I saw the Mona Lisa face. That was so funny!!! My partner also sent me some extra crochet flowers which I'm using in an altered book I'm making!

This is the "dotee with a moustache" that I made for my partner. Sweetie man said she reminded him of a side show worker!!! (was that a compliment???)

And this was the dotee I sent for the "Wizard of Oz" swap. The next one I need to make is the "Tin Man Swap".....I have some ideas on how I'm going to do that one.

Well, that's it for now! I have so many crafts swimming around in my head and I don't know what to do first. I usually end up jumping from one to another and eventually finish them all. With a new little grandson entering the picture in my Step-daughter's family in September, I've got a few things lined up there. So, till next time, yinz crazy guys.....keep crafting!!!

Happy Father's Day.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON!!!

22 years ago today, I lay in a hospital bed with the biggest smile on my face that anyone has ever seen!!! 22 years ago today, my crazy, fun, loveable son made his grand entrance into the world and life would never be the same again!!! He's been my rock through times I wasnt' sure I could hang on. He's been a smile when I needed one and no one was around. He's been a strong hug when I felt un-hugeable! He's driven me crazy sometimes, worried me out of my mind and on occasion made me utter those famous words..."I brought you into this world and I can take you out!" But no matter what happened in my life in the past.....I would go through it all over again just to have THIS BOY!!!!! Thank you, God, for this wonderful blessing you gave me to grow and nuture into a man. I'm sure you know, Father, that he has taught me way more about this world of yours than I could ever have taught him. Please keep him safe, strong and happy for many many years to come. Happy Birthday, Glenn.....I love you!!!!

I WON!!!

Look everybody...I won an award!!! This one is from Rachel over at Home Is Where The Heart Is. Thanks Rachel!!

Now I'm going to pick my 7 favs....7 is really hard cause I have over 100 listed on bloglines but I'll start picking anyway.

The rules with this award are to:
1) List 7 things you love.
2) Link back to the person who gave you the award.
3) Pass it along to 7 other bloggers


Seven Things I love:
1. God
2. Sweetie Man, kids and all my family
3. My animals (4 dogs, 1 turtle, 1 cat, 1 rabbit)
4. My Church family
5. My crafts and books
6. Sweetie Man's cooking
7. Nice cold glass of wine

Seven Bloggers who are deserving of this award...


Gaggle of Geisslers (you really need to check this one out as it's my niece and family and
she did an awesome job of posting our recent vacation there--may need to scroll down a day or two. Not to mention the videos of my nephew are hilarious....please visit her's tho)
The Twisted Stitcher (lots of good tutorials and ideas on stitching)
Black Belt Stitching Wizard (Dani inspires me)
Musings From A Three Bedroom House (family and stitching...fun!)
The World According to Ollie (love the animals she posts)
Crochet and Other Stuff (Mimi has always been a favorite of mine when it comes to crochet)
Meari's Musing (I just enjoy reading about her day to day life...very uplifting and funny)

And Rachel's blog could be added here as well as so many others that I enjoy connecting with....I give you all my Lucy Loves Ya Award (okay, I made that up). Anyway, enjoy visiting these all and maybe you'll find some new cyber friends in the process...don't be afraid to leave them a comment.
Till next time yinz crazy guys...

In case you are wondering....

...I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth....just spending some quality time with this awesome little man....my great nephew, Owen!!!!

Till next time, yinz crazy guys....

2009 River Car Show

For those of you who don't know, The River, is Sweetie Man and my church, and today was our 4th Annual Car Show (all for the community...all FREE). I recently discovered a book by Squire Rushnell called GOD WINKS and how God speaks to us through coincidences that happen in our lives. It's sorta like when someone winks at you and it means, "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" or "You really understand what I want you to do!" Well, it seems to me, that when The River's Car Show has absolutely PERFECT weather the fourth year in a row, enough FREE FOOD made and donated by our members to feed 1000 people (almost exactly...talk about bread and fishes), an incredible huge stash of donated prizes and awards, an awesome outdoor church service and music.....and smiling exhausted workers (from young to old) every year (not to mention smiling vintage car owners)....I would venture to say God was definately speaking to our church through these incredible coincidences.....saying, "Now that's how to do church!" So with that said, enjoy the pictures and remember that God IS WATCHING.....AND TRUST ME....TODAY HE WAS WINKING!!!

There were so many beautiful cars there (100-150?) and bikes (and an airplane). I ran Ed's Hot Zone as you can see and had to have the pepper painted on my face. Sweetie Man was out of town but he made his incredible "Sodom Salsa" and "Gomorrah Guacamole" and I made 300 "Temptation Brownie" bites which of course has jalepeno juice and cayenne, cinnamon and diced jalepenos in them. Everything was a hit. It was just a fabulous day! Now I'm off to relax a bit and get ready for new week....so till next time, yinz crazy guys!

INCHIE NATION!

I was in a swap at swap-bot where I had to do four inchies...you remember....one inch square pieces of artwork. I checked out the profile of who I was sending to and tried to match up her likes. This first one was with a cross charm since she collects crosses.

Ok...I threw this one in cause I liked the vintage ladies in swimsuits and I bought this cool vintage paper with submarines on it.

She liked pink and black together so I made this one.

And she loves penguins (like someone else I know, dear niece of mine), so I came up with this little inchie.

I haven't heard from her yet, but I am anxious to find out if she liked it. I haven't received mine yet, but I do tend to have the worst luck with receiving in swaps.

I also managed to squeeze in this cross stitched bookmark for my grandson. He likes the camo look and those are his initials. I also threw in a book...It's the journal companion for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. His mom said that he actually put down the Nintendo DS to write in this journal....it's a pretty funny journal, like the books.

That's about it for now. Just keeping busy crafting and stitching on the front porch. So till next time, yinz crazy guys...

THANK YOU....

...TO ALL THOSE WHO SERVE OUR COUNTRY
AND HAVE SERVED IN THE PAST
TO KEEP US SAFE AND FREE!!
MEMORIAL DAY 2009

Swappin Frenzy!!!

Well, as you know I'm in this swapping frenzy! My problem is is that I don't get the pics posted quick enough and I promise to try harder. So, with that said, this is a Dotee that I made for a swap. I couldn't wait to show her cause I thought she was so cute. Can you guess the theme of the Dotee Swap? (she's clickable to enlarge)

Not too difficult...it's Alice in Wonderland! I didn't receive mine yet but this was an international swap on Swap-Bot so it may be enroute.
I'm not one to cause a big stink if for some reason I don't receive something in return as I really do just enjoy making and sending things.....and I know things happen in people's lives that cause them not to be able to send. Well, in the case of the mailart swap in the HoE group, I didn't get a mailart, and then the second person who was to make me one didn't send, so the admin of the swap made one and sent it (which I pictured in a previous post!) Well, it turns out I recieved another just recently from France (I'm so sorry I can't read the name on the postcard enclosed) but it is a beautiful piece with my initials. My address was a couple numbers off which could be why it may have been delayed in the mail. Thank you so much, Lamence(?)

This was the bookmark exchange from in the HoE group. OMG...I love this awesome colorful bookmark from Jean.

Jean is from Singapore...I LOVE receiving international swaps!!!! My name is even on the bookmark and she also was so sweet to send some additional goodies. Fabrics are another fav of mine!!! Thank you so much Jean!!!

Don't think I posted this but it's the washcloths I received from the washcloth swap in Swap-Bot! I love cotton crocheted washcloths which is why I signed up for this one. But look, Shannon also sent me these great wooden hooks....I drooled on those!!! Thank you so much, Shannon!

So, now I'm off to work on more swaps I got into....an Inchie Swap and a couple more Dotee swaps! I love to check out people's profiles and blogs and see what they like then come up with something to match. So, enjoy the day and till next time, yinz crazy guys.....