Temporary Truce

Cats and Dogs historically don't get along, and mine are no different.  However every once in awhile they do surprise us and pretend to love each other.  I believe this is Chico's first appearance on the blog, and yes he is a large boy-I like to say that he is big boned.  He has a bit of an attitude so beware around him!  Charlie is always trying to chase Chico.  Chico is always swatting and hitting Charlie in return.  I don't think Charlie will ever learn that the kitties do not like to play with him.  

 A little brotherly love once in awhile never killed anyone.

Scrapbooking!!!

I know I have been slacking a bit this last week or two in my daily crafty blogging but I intend to finish the month strong!  Like a lot of people I know, I love to scrapbook.  When I take pictures, I take them thinking of how I will scrap them.  After we moved into the house and before the fire my goal was to get myself all caught up so that I could immediately start on Damain's scrapbook.  Unfortunately the fire ruined my big plans so I am a bit behind.  No fear though, once my craft room is completely set up I will be scrapping away!  My favorite scrap tool is defiantly my Cricut, ahhh I love my Cricut.  My loving husband bought it for me after watching me stare longingly over it on the TV.  It is the funnest and most useful thing ever.  These are just a few examples of some of my scrapbooking.  I would really like to have a monthly scrapbooking day at my house, so be looking for that post. 

 Charlie does have his own scrapbook, as do the cats.  I can't discriminate!

 These pages come from one of my Engagement/Wedding scrapbooks.

Can you guess the holiday we were celebrating?!?!

Baby Craft-Taggy Blanket

Anything that Damian can get his hands on goes right to his mouth.  So I thought I would make him something he could chew on but that was also soft and cuddly.  The Taggy Blanket idea is not originally mine but something I saw on a mommy website and I decided to make my own.

 What a cute model Damian makes!

A tiny crafty lady!

Rachel sent me these pictures of a craft that her and Adelaide did the other day.  They made bird feeders with pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed!  Rachel said that after they made them the squirrels took off with them all, squirrels gotta eat too!  What a perfect project for little ones that love to help.  I remember making these with my grandma when I was a little girl.  Keep up the craftiness Adelaide and Rachel!!!

Even a little basket to put all the supplies in!

The last surviving pine cone bird feeder before the squirrels got to it!

4 months old!

Today was Damian's 4 month check up.  He weighs in at 15lbs 6 oz and is 26.5 inches long.  Huh I wonder why he is so tall :)  I took these pictures a few days ago, I couldn't help myself hehehe.  I was in the kitchen making dinner when I realized the bouncing and music had stopped.  Poor guy had bounced himself to sleep.  After I took the necessary photos I did lay him down for a nap, but the pictures were a must!

Keep on Quilting...

This quilt was made for Janel's son Carson by her friend Donnelle.  

These two pictures are of the quilt that Donnelle made for Janel's daughter Madelaine.  These quilts will be treasured for years and years to come.

Happy National Quilting Day!

All about Quilts!!!

This first quilt is one that my grandma, my  mothers mom made.  The front is made from all velvet fabrics and doesn't have a specific pattern to it.  

This is the back to the velvet quilt.  It was all hand quilted and cross-stitched together.

 This is another quilt that my grandma made.  The fabrics from this quilt are from clothes that my mom wore as a child, there are also some fabrics from her siblings as well.  I might have to use this idea to make a quilt with some of Damian's baby clothes.

This quilt is one that my mom made. It is a nine patch/hourglass pattern.  My mom and I took a beginners quilting class together at the Quilted Forest to learn the basics of quilting, it was super fun.  

I made this baby quilt for Damian.

This is the first quilt that I made it is lap size nine patch/hourglass pattern and has the softest minky material on the back side.  

This Wedding Ring Quilt belonged to my Grandma Austin, my dads mother.  We aren't sure exactly who quilted it but my dad thinks it was his Aunt Grace. Whomever did it spent a lot of time on it as it is all hand stitched.   It is very old and fragile and I don't use it on beds but I would like to some day display it.

My favorite Quilt store is Greenbaum's Quilted Forest.  They have the prettiest fabrics and the women who work there are so knowledgeable and friendly.  http://www.quiltedforest.com/  If you have a quilt that you made or someone made for you and you would like me to post it please send me a picture.

Quick and Easy Baby Craft

I made this pacifier clip last night after having bought the materials for it a month ago.  It took me maybe a half hour and look how cute it is!  All you need is ribbon, a hot glue gun, scissors and some velcro.  I have different ribbon to make a different one also.  Now when I reach back into his car seat I will actually be able to find his pacifier.  That and the dog will have a much harder time running off with them.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope that everyone is having a splendid St. Patty's day and enjoying some corned beef, cabbage and green beer!  We aren't Irish but that sure didn't stop me from wanting to kiss this cute little boy!  

That crafty April is at it again!

April made this cute sewing bag with the help of her mother.  Aprils mom has some pretty cool embroidery  machines, like those ones you marvel at when you go to the fair.  April did the sewing of the bag and had her mom embroidered the wording and pictures on it.  I love that April sews also, there really aren't a lot of people that sew anymore and to have someone who loves it as much as I do is pretty awesome!  With our babies only being 6 months apart I think we will be doing lots of sewing projects together-can anyone say cutest Halloween costumes!

Craty Janel is at it again!

I love these frames, in fact I love them so much I even have some of my own.  I bet if some of you are familiar with Creative Memories you may also have them in your house!  Janel uses her to display pictures of her adorable kids.  She makes it her own by changing the paper and the decorations depending on the pictures that are in there.  Keep up the craftiness Janel!  

On a side note, if anyone has a quilt they would like me to post, the 19th is National Quilt Day and I will be featuring all quilts, all day!  It doesn't have to be something you made, maybe something someone made as a gift for you, or something your grandma made etc.  Please send me your pics and a little something about the quilt!

Crafty Mary

Christmas is probably the ultimate holiday to decorate your home for, but I have always loved decorating for Halloween also.  I lost the majority of my decorations in the fire so as each holiday approaches I have been rebuilding my supply.  I am so thankful that my hanging wall quilts were not destroyed as they were very time consuming, one of a kind and I had only finished them a year prior.  I took a class at the Quilted Forest to learn the tricks and techniques in making this wall hanging.  It was super fun to shop for all the different fabrics and embellishments to go on it.  I have a Christmas one that I will be featuring later.  

Crafty website-5M Creations

My friend Dara always has the cutest party decorations, with the cutest themes.  She gets all her party decorations from her friend Melissa, the creator of 5M Creations.  I encourage everyone to check out her website and see all the cute things that she makes, and remember her for your next party! http://5mcreations.blogspot.com/

Crafty April

My friend April made this cute hair clip for her adorable daughter Elena.  Something so quick and easy to make, you could make multiple hair clips for the price to buy one, but looks so good!  April also sews, I will be featuring some of her sewing later in the month.  I love having my precious little boy, but there are defiantly much cuter crafty things to make for baby girls.  

Crafty Christy

 

I asked her if she wanted to smile for the picture, but she was too busy concentrating!

An action shot!

All lined up and ready to bead.

The first necklace and earring set she made, so pretty!

My mom is a woman of many talents and I get my craftiness from her I am happy to say.  Like Heidi and I, she does lots of different kinds of crafty things.  Her newest passion is making necklaces and earrings.  Right now she is working on making necklaces with the colors of the wordless book for all the women to wear on their China trip.  Keep up the craftiness Mom!

Crafty Janel

 (it really does hang straight on the wall, my picture taking abilities seemed to be lacking)

My bestie Janel loves the Eiffel Tower and wanted to use that love for some decorations in her dining room.  She added to the metal wire towers with some pieces she made herself, bringing in a splash of color and tying all the pieces together.  Keep up the craftiness Janel!

Oh that crafty Heidi

Heidi is at it again.  She knit these coffee cup cozies!  How cute is that!!!  Now you won't need those boring paper cozies,  you can get a customized chic knit one!  If knitting is your thing, let me know, I will get the pattern from Heidi.  I might have to get out my knitting needles and give it a try, I want my coffee to look cute too.  Keep up the craftiness Heidi!

Kiddy crafts

Having kids really opens up the spectrum of craft projects that you can do. I cross-stitched this bib for Damian and it is sure coming in handy with all his drool from teething. Cross-stitching a bib is a nice quick and simple project but still cute and functional! I hope everyone is enjoying National Craft Month, send in those pictures!!!

Crafty Mary

I love to take classes at the Quilted Forrest, a local sewing/quilting store in Salem. My mom and I have taken quite a few classes together and I have taken some on my own also. The classes are a great time to learn new skills and to have uninterrupted crafty time. The picture quilt class was a gift from my parents for Christmas one year, imagine my quizzical face when I see an old window frame sitting under the Christmas tree! My mom got the window frame from an antique store in Aurora, it gives the picture quilt extra character. If anyone would like to make a picture quilt I would love to make another one, I have a book with patterns and ideas-including holiday themes.

Crafty Websites

My friend Dara passed along this picture of a crafty item she found on the fabulous website etsy. For those of you unfamiliar to etsy it is a website where everyday people can sell their handmade items. You can find just about anything on etsy. "So Lovely Creations" has boy and girl name blocks and photo name blocks which you can have customized with your child's name and/or pictures. A very cute idea and another wonderful crafty item! Thank you Dara for sharing this with us :) www.slcshop.etsy.com