Happy Easter!!!

Didn't want to forget my Blogger Buddies and wishing you all a very Blessed Easter! As my gift to you, please take a minute and watch a little video from one my favorite internationally-known Pastors (next to my own of course), Authors and Teachers, Rob Bell, on the Resurrection....it's fast and powerful!!! Enjoy!
P.S. This is the same Rob Bell we met last year for Easter in Michigan!

https://www.robbell.com/resurrection/

Art Journals...

I know I haven't posted for about a month....but doggone it....Spring has SPRUNG!!! It's really difficult not to want to do things outside and enjoy the beautiful warm air. I also have an important swap to finish...that I may have to mail my partner and tell her it may be a little late cause I got so caught up in it....sorta one of my temporary passions. I'm a sorta flip-flop crafter and jump from one subject to another. (tho I do have some standard do all the time crafts) I really enjoy researching the current craft I'm working on also and this one is just awesome. Though all crafts are stress busters to me, this one in particular really takes the "cake". Art Journals are just about the best stress reliever I've done so far. It combines journaling and art...the kind of art you did as a kid...the kind that made you smile and glad it was time for art class. I started off doing my journal not really feeling it until I discovered the art and tutorials on journaling of mix/media artist, TEESHA MOORE. OMG...I'm hooked. This particular art really brings out creativity (which I always said that I'm not creative, I can just follow a pattern really good). It also is a inexpensive no-brainer...you can use just about anything to journal with...old magazines, crayons, paint, stickers, water colors, pencils, pens...and most important, a notebook. You can talk about your day or do a theme. Great to do with the kids or grandkids. The best part is is that anything goes...nothing is wrong or messed up. My swap is a 31 day theme...unfortunately I got in the swing of things about 12 days into the 31 so I have some catching up to do to finish it. Sweetie Man doesn't want me to part with this journal but sadly I must...I do plan on finding a way to make a copy for my own use. We've recently been through a little difficult period here in the 'burgh and art journaling has really REALLY helped.

Below are a few pages I've done with the help of the Teesha Moore Tutorials. Hope you enjoy them and I'll definately post more. (remember if you click on the pic, you can get a nice close up)

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

A must see for Dog Lovers....

Altered Art....

For some reason I getting into this altered art kick so you may start seeing some glimpses of things in between the regular crochet and cross stitch stuff. This first one is an altered paper doll I had to actually make then dress with velcro clothes. I really liked her.

These aren't altered but they are some dotees I received. The first is a St. Pat's Dotee, the second is the I love (blank) Dotee and in this case my swap partner loved pink. And the last one is another Mermaid Dotee.

I just love seeing everyone's ideas of things from different places and countries.

Next, been in a crocheting mood so I made Sweetie Man a Ear Flap Hat and some Fingerless Gloves. So many free patterns on the internet for both of these items.

This was the hat I made for myself.

I started an altered art journal with things and pages that I was feeling at any given moment. Here are a couple of pages I started.

And I'll end my post today with the mother of all icicles that I've seen so far. Needless to say I did not venture anywhere near this one.....
So till next time, yinz crazy guys........

Happy Valentine's Day, yinz guys!!

...sorry, I couldn't resist showing this pic...don't worry, it's not me!!! (and nor will it ever be me!) Happy Valentine's Day!!

In case you're wondering...

...where I've been....I've been right here crafting my little fingers off. Alot of pics to show you, so sit back relax and enjoy...
First off, I've been trying my hand at a prayer shawl. Ran out of yarn so I need to get more but the pattern is the half moon shawl pattern on the Lion Brand site. I thing it's turning out really pretty. Done with a N hook so it works up fast using worsted weight yarn.
Second pic, is a cross stitch I've been working on. I started it awhile back and put it away then just recently pulled it. It's a Mastif and I think it is turning out wonderful.

This little fella is a snowman my neice found for me....he/she is knitting. Isn't it adorable???

I'm in a paper doll swap on swapbot and this is the one I received. Can't show you the one I sent quite yet but on this one, all her clothes were attached with ribbons and the hair is so cute and feathery.

Still doing my dotees and this one is one I received for a mermaid dotee swap. I just love her. You can tell alot of work was put into her!

My niece made these adorable butterfly towels for me but I really think that in the Spring I'm going to lay them out as table runners. I love them. The picture doesn't show how colorful the butterflies really are.

My niece, the crafter, did this awesome bracelet for me in a little swap we did between the two of us. I love bracelets with lots of beads and she does jewelry so well that I couldn't wait to see what she had made me.

Sweetie man was the lucky receiver of these SO cool painted peppers my niece made for our Christmas tree. She said the idea was from the Martha Stewart site. I fell in love with them! What a great idea!

I also did a I (heart) ______dotee swap. Of course, since I love crafts, that was my theme. Does she scream crafts or what. I even put a little ball of yarn and needles on her head for a hat (Sweetie Man's idea).

These were the mermaid dotees I made for the swap. I made one and then saw I was supposed to make two for two partners. Didn't turn out too bad, eh??? Check out the shell bikini tops!

I made this for my niece's family. It's a needlepunch penquin. This is almost as much fun as cross stitching.

Pulled out the old quilt that I never finished quilting. With all the dogs gone but two, I thought it would be safe...

This was the swap item that I gave my niece in exchange for the bracelet. Two tea bag cozies so she can carry her tea in her purse. Learned how to do this in a swap recently.

Had to make something for my great nephew and since he is so into dinosaurs I crocheted this Triceratops for him. Not too many patterns out there. I'm surprised he could make it out...at first he did think it was a Christmas tree tho.

While digging through my craft stash, I actually found this T-rex pattern I bought and cut out a long long time ago but never sewed together. Had to make it for my dino-crazy great nephew. It turned out great!

Last but not least, I made this one up myself. Sweetie man wanted me to make a wine bottle cover that had a rooster theme. I put some different patterns together and came up with this. It was a Christmas gift for friends of ours...they loved it!

And this, my friends, is the reason I've been crafting so much. 25 inches of snow in PA this past weekend.....well, I didn't do all my crafting this weekend, but it certainly helps to be stuck in the house.

And that's about it....I'll end with a picture of Sweetie Man with his buddy Eros. Took this a few weekends ago before he went out to travel and got stuck in another state due to all the snow....can't wait till he gets home!

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

Some New Year updates...

Hope everyone had a great New Year and is off to a crafty start like me. These Winter days really put me in a crafting mood so I'll show you a little bit of what I accomplished so far.
First I have to show you this hilarious pic of turtles. We gave our turtle to a friend of mine who already had a turtle and she was kind enough to send me this pic of the two together. Ours is the big one on the bottom.


Is it just me or should there be a cartoon bubble coming out of the bottom one's mouth with something like, "Whadda you lookin at?" or something like that. She just looks so annoyed that this younger turtle insists on climbing onto her shell. I just love it.
Okay...to the good stuff. Made this wine bottle cover from a pattern I happened to find online. I stupidly did not check my gauge and it was a little big but still cute for a fun wrapper for the wine.

I also knitted two hats for Christmas gifts with a basic #10 needles and bulky yarn. It ended up being flat of course with a nice ribbed brim and you just sewed it up the side. For a beginner knitter like me, it was perfect and still looked like I knew what I was doing. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pics of them. I think I'm going to make another, so I'll be sure and photo it.
Next I finally did a finish for this cross stitch I did awhile ago. I thought the flat fold turned out great and my sister loved it. She's a bit of a Wizard of Oz fan.

Finally had to show Sweetie Man with his new Christmas present...a Cuisinart Vertical Rotesserie. That's a deer roast in there which turned out superb!!

That's about it for now. Working on a few things I'll have to show you once certain people get their presents, so till then, stay warm and keep crafting. Till next time, yinz crazy guys....

HAPPY NEW YEAR, YINZ GUYS!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my blogger friends! May you have a wonderful time with family and friends, may you get all the stitching gifts you asked for.....and most important, may you never ever forget the REASON for the SEASON!
God Bless....yinz guys!

Finally a working camera...

I'm here....just couldn't get the darn pics uploaded from the camera. I finally did so now sit back and enjoy cause I got lots to show you.
First off is our precious new grandson (my step-grandson) with his bib that I cross stitched for him. Isn't he absolutely adorable?

Next it was my great nephew's 2nd birthday and being as he loves trucks soooooooo much I had to make one of this blankets...this material was just calling his name!

I also cross stitched this card cute card for him also. Not that he knows it's hand stitched....but his mom liked it!


I was so bummed as I mis-placed our 50+ year old manger scene. It's somewhere in this house but with the kids moving in then out, it got put elsewhere. So I came up with this quickie one made of glass blocks and manger scene silhouettes from sticky paper. Saw this on the web somewhere and thought it was very clever. I did it in an evening.

My LNS owner had a Christmas Party at her house for a few of the gals who go to her Wednesday night stitching group. I decided to whip this up from the 2009 Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament Magazine for her tree. So easy!

I was in an ornament exchange and this is the ornament I sent. It's the second time I made it and it's from a very old magazine from the 80's. I just love it even tho it takes forever to make.

Did I tell you it was my birthday last Wednesday (9th)? I had a dear friend of mine bake me a cake which I took to my stitching group that night. Check out the needle and thread. It was sooooooo delicious!!

And this is the awesome ornament (3 sided) that I received in the ornament exchange. The pictures don't do it justice....incredible stitching!!!

Well, that's it for now. Back to more cross stitching and crocheting for Christmas. I love this time of year for crafting. I wish I would start earlier (like January) doing this for the holidays so everyone I know could have something homemade from me....but yinz guys know how that goes. Till next time....