~Update on "Trick or Treat Fairy" ~

A wee update on TTF, she is coming along nicely, a real fun stitch...even with the few frogging sessions last weekend....still hoping to have her finished by Halloween!!

It's Christmas in July!!!!

Seasons of my Mind is having a spectacular giveaway..hurry on over and see her wonderful stitching, and all the goodies she is so generously giving away...I just LOVE finding a new blog to follow...THANK YOU Ma Kettle for posting the info first!!!

A VERY long over due posting!!!

I cannot believe its been 6 months since I posted anything...then again I guess I can, 2011 has been fairly crazy- busy...but in a good way!  I finally managed to collect all the fibers and beads needed for Nora Corbett's Halloween Fairy, Ive had her on the to do pile since seeing her in 2008!!  Here are a couple of snaps of my progress, I apologize for the lousy shots, obviously photography is not my strong suit ;)

The Finished Photo above is not mine, its from the web just for reference, she is a beauty and is quite nice to stitch, I hope to have her completed for this Halloween!!

Handmade by Nina.... New Year's Giveaway!!

This is not to be missed!! Nina makes the most fabulous looking hand dyed threads!  Her blog is exceptional, please go see all the wonderful creations she has posted!!

Spooktacular Giveaway!!!

Halloween spooktacular giveaway at the Dixie Samplar There is lots to see on her blog, even if you don't enter, you will really enjoy the visit!!

Another Lizzie Kate Finish

Well sort of....I stitched this last year and packed it away with the Halloween decorations and forgot about it...then came across these cute frames in the local dollar store this past spring, and of course couldn't find the piece when I needed it...now frame and piece are together at last...found the little moon shape in my button stash and glue him up there...I'm running out of places to put things!

fall finish

Oh...and forgot about this sweet lil Fall finish...from Trail Creek Farms...it looks so cute in this frame don't you think?

SAL's Progress

Thought I'd post a progress report on the two SAL's Ive been working on, Sylvia's little heart SAL, and Brooke's Books, ABC SAL. I started on Brookes rather late in the game, so I have alot of catching up to do there, which isnt easy with all the beadwork involved.....and I swear I have Stitchers ADD, I cannot look at anything posted without reaching for a new piece of fabric and threads to start working on it too....oh well guess there is worse things I could do right??

A couple of Fall Finishes

Finally....decided to try a cube finish for these cute lil Lizzie Kate, and BoaF charts...I really don't know why I was so reluctant to try this type of finish, I guess it looked more complicated that it actually was....anyway now I have to get a decent supply of styrofoam on hand since this was so simple Im anxious to make more!

Loretta's Stitching Blogoversary and giveaway!!

Loretta is celebrating three years of beautiful blogging with a great giveaway...stop by and leave her a lil note of congrats...and check out her generous giveaway!!

http://lorettasstitchingblog.blogspot.com/p/giveaways.html

Works in Progress

Beginning of A is for Aran

Front Door of Midnight Watch

Well...thought I'd post a quick shot of the two projects I have going, Brookes Books ABC SAL, and Midnight Watch, from BlackBird Designs..had every intention of having Midnight Watch done and framed by Halloween, but...I'm being realistic...always next year right??  Been watching all the gals participating in Brookes ABC SAL...and just decided to jump on the bandwagon, albeit about 9 months late ;)  Will try to post progress shots more often....

Sylvia's SAL progress

Finally caught up July and August this past weekend! Sylvia...Bring on Sept!!

New Look!

I really like the new simple design layout! In case any one is wondering about the photo header...that is a picture I took in Italy a few years ago, its a gorgeous view of the Vatican City from atop the Castel San'Angelo, it is one of my most favorite photos!! We have a trip planned there for this fall, can't wait to take in more of Italy's beauty.

Undertaking a New SAL!

Well.....happened to check out Brooke;s Books Alphabet SAL blog...and saw this...the preview of the Q block...LOVE IT!! So....now I just have to join in, albeit almost 9 months late...of course I realize I could just make that one block...but I wouldn't want it to be lonely...so I'm undertaking the whole thing...now I couldn't find any tea-dyed Monaco at Michael's and Joann's and of course there is no LNS well...local...so I tea dyed some Aida I had on hand (glad to be using up the last of this ginormous piece)! So A for Aran here I come!

Beautiful Watercolor Card at Jak Heath and some yummy blog candy to go with it!

If you havent had a visit to Jak Heath's blog, go today, she has a wonderful card using aquamarkers and a chance to win some!! Watercolor is probably my most favorite method of coloring, I love the softness of it and lets face it...its quick too!!

Color Challenge at Crafters Digital Art Center

Daisy Doodles is hosting a color challenge...the color is Yellow....and there is a sweet freebie digi to go with the challenge...Yellow is such a happy color and the lil sunflower is just too cute!!
Go check out the challenge and see what you can come up with!!

Paper Sundaes #25 Challenge

Thought I'd give this challenge a try, Paper Sundae's #25 challenge is White Plus One....A predominantly white card, with one added color....this should be fun!! Fred She Said is hosting this challenge, check out Paper Sundae's blog for all the details, and what you could win from Fred She Said.

So..Ive been playing all weekend with my new sizzix, and finally using the cricut I bought...the kitchen island looks like the tazmanaian devil just came through...its a perfect day to get some crafting done, the weather is ugly...it's raining cats and dogs right now!!

So on to the challenge....I cut the white cs to a 4 1/2 square, embossed it with the swiss dots folder, cut various circles and flowers with both the sizzix and cricut from white, and parrot green cs...layered them, did a little paper piercing, used white gel pen for the stitching, and then added the green gem, and little hello tag...this one is going to a dear friend who needs a little pick me up this week...hope you'll give this one try, it was fun and not as easy as I first thought!!

Happy 4th of July!...and a patriotic card

Happy 4th all...of course I know its only the 3rd ;) Since my back is not cooperating with me today, Im up and down, alternating standing and sitting...ugh..however, it did give me an opportunity to play a little...Mark's Finest Papers is having a card challenge, the challenge is to use a die cut, so....being that Ive just inherited a sizzix and some dies and folders, thought I'd try a couple...OWH is also having a challenge for a birthday card for the US, this might be stretching the theme a tad, but I like it!

The Red CS is cut to a 5 1/2 square, and layered with a slightly smaller square of a DP in a weathered beige, and DP in stripes and stars, the larger star and circles were both cut with a sizzix die, and the sentiment was a freebie from Create with TLC

I love both of these blogs, TLC always has the most interesting ideas, and fab freebies!!..and Operation Write Home, too has the neatest posts...make sure you go visit!!

Delicious Blog Candy at The Stamping Boutique!!!

You HAVE to check out the blog candy over at The Stamping Boutique It is too delicious for words!!

Paper Sundae's Pretty as a Princess Challenge

Paper Sundaes #23 Challenge of Pretty as a Princess...just got me a girly mood today..Im pretty new to this card making thing, and havent yet acquired a big
stash of pretties and bling...(trust me Im working on correcting that!).....

Anyway...thought I would play a bit with a few things, one of them being print
master express, to see if I could merge several images and hey..I surprised myself! I got them to merge...not crazy about how the inking on the edges shows up in the photo, goodness knows I'm not the best photographer either....It was great fun just playing around with this one, and I hope to improve with each card...there are so many talented cardmakers out there, I hope to have some of that knowledge and creativity rub off!!

Anyway...this easel card was put together this way....cut 5x10 white cardstock, 4 6/8 x 4 6/8 square of double sided Imaginesce cardstock Baby Powder/Baby's Breath, the scalloped design was downloaded from Fred She Said's blog, colored with uchida markers and a blending pencil. and then added a few flowers colored with uchida marker, and some bling bling....The sentiment was printed from Word on white
CS, and double matted with designer CS...