And the winners are...Pam and Tiffany. Girls please send me your snail mail addy and your journals will be on their way! Tiffany I will send you the wool one and Pam the craft one. I have also added to them a bit. So they are not exactly like the photo, but are better hopefully.

We have had a wonderful week with gorgeous weather. Michelle and I have rested alot and been working on stitcheries. Doing a bit of redwork. Shopped and ate. Just being together is great fun for us. We are easy! LOL

I am still here. We have been very very busy. The Fibre Show was a good time. I have some great pics to post another day. And my bestest friend Michelle is here for 8 days from British Columbia, Canada. Not much crafty sewy stuff happening though, we ususally make something together. I have been feeling a bit peaked so we are taking it easy. Lots of chatter though! :o) Even sicky I cannot hush around her! LOL

AND tomorrow is my Give-A-Way drawing day! So we will be doing that together. Will try to post the winning info on Friday or Saturday at the latest. I am excited to see who will be the winning number!

More journals to share. The one on top is so fun. The photograph says "ye ole maide convention". So I went with a faith and hope dream theme. It is a much darker navy than the scan shows. The inside is high paper grade drawing/sketch pad. The next two are lined page journals. I covered them in papers, front and back. The lock and key are to represent unlocking our ideas and then remembering what they were long enough to get them down on paper! :o)) Grosgrain ribbon is wrapped around the book's spine. Made these while I had all the album goodies out.

Ephemera journals...a new passion.

These are just teaser pics. LOL I have a photograph of each page on my website. Go HERE to see them all and read the listing details. The base is a paper mache book. This one has 16 seperate ephemera items with it! I have made two paper bag journals also. These creations are just addictive. I love the whole process from the collecting and gathering of the goodies to playing with the papers and ribbons. The big girl version of paper dolls to me. I am vendoring this coming Saturday at a show and plan on taking these with me. Not for sure how they will go over honestly. But I had a great time making them! Give me shout out of what you think of them. I had never seen anything like this in person. Just in magazines and the internet, and knew I had to make one, or two or three.... It is so fun to go through them even though I know what is there. LOL

And do not forget about the Give-A-Way!! The drawing will be the 25th.

I hope you all had a good Mother's Day.
This is a picture off my frig. It is in a Winnie the Pooh magnet frame actually. It was taken in one of those photo booth thingys. By my hair, I am thinking I was probably in 4th grade, so about 10 or 11 years old. Mom would kill me for posting this, so sisters don't be a telling on me! It is the only picture I think I have of just me and mom when I was a kiddo. My eyes are soooooo huge. And my crazy crooked short bangs, a mom hair cut trade mark for sure! LOL

I love both my parents. They are amazing people.

Do not forget about our upcoming Give-A-Way! Leave a comment and pass the word along please to your blog friends. I am working on prize gathering. Want to have a good selection!

My baby boy Bubby passed away today. He was a seal point Persian and mommy's baby.

Swap Goodies rock!!

The first is my swap on a quilting forum. It was to be a pincushion swap and Gloria totally blew me away with this yummmmmmmmy spring table topper. The flowers are a purple and remind me of either iris or crocus. Totally awesome! And here I thought I had done good by sending her 2 pincushions (a rabbit and a pear).

And these are pics of my first blog swap. A Doll Quilt Swap. How great is this Flying Geese quiltlet. I love the fabrics and the red/white/blue colors are perfect for my house. Sarah did an amazing job. Thank you so much. I forgot to take pictures of the quilt I sent out. Was so excited to have it ready to go, I simply forgot. I hope my partner will be able to post them when she receives it.

Eye Candy. What I have been working on for the fibre show in May. The make-do pincushions have a variety of bases...old door knobs, pewter and glass salt and pepper shakes (glass ones are filled with buttons), a glass jar with buttons and a silver candlestick. I used my own pattern (Primitive Make-do Pinkeep). The bunnies are holding strawberry pincushions. The pillows are embroideried using varigated red peal cotton. Tonight I worked on dressing 12 dolls. Now they are ready for faces, hair and embellishments. I love to make my grungy dolls!

Yardwork and aching muscles. But much more relaxed after my weed yanking and pulling. I love working in my flowerbeds. My flesh may cry and whine, but the mental benefits are always worth it. I just seem to forget until I get started. Then I loose myself in what I am doing and start thinking on God's amazing power. If God can take care of the flowers and create all this beauty, I need to remember He can take care of me and my family. And just like the weeds I am pulling out of my flowers, I need to pull the ugly out of my own life. Worry, doubt, fear...all the things that pull down my spirit. Replace it with the beauty that God gives us all...peace, joy, eternal life. So even though my knee is saying "change the ice bag please", my mind is much calmer. Good trade I am thinking :o)

Anyways.........did you know I am going to be a great aunt? Yep...our own Hillary is blessing us with a baby in November. This would be the dd/only child to our eldest sister Debbie Jo LOLOL (She just had her birthday this past week, so couldnt resist the lil poke.) We have given her all OUR ideas for names. She told us to and I quote, get out of the 80's. I think that is hilarious! Cause to me, the 80's was like what? 5 minutes ago? LOL She said we were offering up too old fashioned names. I like old fashioned names thank you very much. :o) She wants something different and unique. So we are all on pins and needles to hear what they come up with. My dh and I suggest Mercedes Louise (Louise after my mamaw who loved Hillary to pieces.) and call her Sadie Lou. This is assuming of course the baby is a girl! LOL We are such the bossy family. Healthy healthy baby is the main priority. Then be a girl! We offered up boy names also. Just in case. She shot down those also. LOL You would think this was HER baby? I know she doesn't read this. Right Deb?????

I am so sorry. If you have a friend, family member or just know someone that knows someone involved in the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech University. The pictures of the victims on the television is heart breaking. Much like the 9-11 memories. God bless all those left behind.

Something for me and maybe thee? Just sharing what I have been doing. I have words just come to me and then seem to stick around for a bit. People will say them, I will read them. They are just there. So I thought I would share them here with you too. Like a "word for the week" rambling kinda thing. Something to think on and maybe help me with my "funk".

Right now the word is IMAGE. What image do I have of myself, what image do I think others have of me. What do I want to improve on? What can I improve on and what is just there. Selfimage. Character traits good and bad.

Webster says
image--The opinion or concept of something that is held by the public.
The character projected to the public, as by a person or institution, especially as interpreted by the mass media.

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Eleanor Roosevelt

Sorry so long in posting. And thank you to everyone who has sent me emails asking just where in the world I am anyways. I think I responded to everyone, if I missed you, SORRY!

I have been in a bit of a funk. Wont go into it, but it has been an ongoing funk that I just need to give over to God to deal with.

Our folks just had their anniversary, nope this isnt them. LOL And my sis got married on their anniversary, so we had a double dip party tonight. It was quite yummy as did it breakfast style. Pancakes, biscuits and sausage gravy, eggs any and every way, sausage and turkey bacon, and all the yummy extra fixin's. We need to do our parties like this more often Debbie. It was quite good! Mom and daddy got Deb and David this cool thing. It was an electric server for dips and such. Had the center bowl with little dividers around it.

I have been working in my playhouse and someday soon I will have lots to show for it. But right now, everything is in stages. We are doing a Fibre Show in May and I am working towards that. Right now I am in dollmaking mode. Now onto dressing them. Then the faces and then the hair. Then the accessories. I purchased very cute pewter charms I am going to make into necklaces for some.

It has turned off chilly and rainy here in Indiana. Better than the snow the northeast is getting. And the wind storms the south has had. So no complaints. I just wonder how messed up my flower gardens are going to be? I am thinking some of the perennials are going to be confused. I know that is my state of mind these days. Hope everyone is healthy and warm.

Bunny pincushions! And they keep multiplying! LOL I had fun with these. They are completely hand stitched, made from wool and have needlefelted poofy tails. I started with one and now like typical rabbits, I have six! :o) A couple lil gifties for exchanges and popped them on Etsy also. I really enjoy stitching wool, the needle loves it. Don't you love the toy/salesman sample sewing machines? I have 3 and could have 30!

Crocheting is my therapy. Making doilies specifically is. I do not use a pattern and it is simply mindless busywork for me. Making doll clothes and socks is a bit more. I have to count! LOL And that makes it work you know. But it is still therapy. The dress is made from Bernat baby yarn. It was a bit of a bugger because the yarn seperated so badly. I was very pleased with the results though. I adapted it from an American Girl pattern. My Claire is only 14" tall, compared to the 18" AG dolls. The socks I crochet from pearl cotton thread. These are the largest ones I make (for my Rosette dolls). They are approx 1 5/8" from heel to toe. The smallest I make are 1 3/8" and much shorter, they are for Bleuette.

Do you realize Easter is next Sunday? We are just now making our plans and menu. I have Easter dinner at my house. Debbie has Thanksgiving. We are in a dessert rut. So many are diabetic and we have Jello cake every time. Blech, tired of it! I am thinking to go searching for something else. Do you have a good low/no sugar dessert recipe to share? We would appreciate any ideas!!

blessings and gratitudes...