I LOVE to read....

in fact, I need to have at least three books on my nightstand ready and waiting.!I just finished a wonderful book by Anita Shreve, Fortune Rocks. Tonight I am starting a new book by Anne Rivers Siddons. Outer Banks. I am extremely lucky that my children love to read also and we all enjoy trips to the library. I just can't imagine not enjoying it.. Since I was born in England and began school there at the age of four, I learned to read at an early age. ( I remember my first books were the Noddy series ( I still have them) and Enid Blyton books. so....what does this have to do with my blog?? I am in a bookmark swap and want to post the bookmark that I made. The Dick and Jane primer illustrations are wonderful and so I chose one to print onto felt. I also used Rusty Pickle school paper, black rick rack and some alphabet twill and the top twill is more like a tape.. Found an old red metal button and sewed it onto the top..I so wanted to add more "stuff" to it, but knew it wouldn't work so well as a bookmark if I did!! All this is stitched onto a kraft tag. So what books have you read lately? I am always looking for some new titles..

Two Posts in One day!!

I totally forgot!! I wanted to show you the neat little Christmas Countdown Clipboard I made. I used a dollar clipboard from Walmart , some scraps of christmas paper, felt and some washers and magnets!! Voila!! a countdown calender for the school auction! Now I am off to pick a huge bunch of glorious basil from my garden. That along with the fresh garden tomatoes will make a wonderful pasta salad for lunch today.

Happy Labor Day!

I really should be "laboring" at my house.. It needs a good cleaning, but I decided to wait until tomorrow when everyone is gone.. So much easier to clean when there is no one here!!
Haven't gotten much paper crafting done lately, just been making more little booties.. I love them. There is something about holding that finished pair in your hands. Just so sweet.. I have added burb cloths to make a cute ensemble. This little pink and white pair, I decided to line with flannel.. Found some vintage looking pink and green flower flannel at Joannes. The blue pair I lined with yellow and blue dot flannel, then found some adorable pooh flannel. I have at least ten pairs cut out!! Ok, enough of booties..

The Felt is flying around here!

and it isn't going on cards! I have discovered a new fun activity that I can do while I am waiting for kids, or at the doctor's office or anywhere for that matter. It tucks nicely into a little bag and I can just take it out whenever I have a minute to spare.. I was inspired by an old acquaintance. You must visit her blog.. Old School Acres.
She makes the most amazing things from felt! I went out hunting and found some wonderful colors of real wool felt and some sweet little embellishments from my stash that work wonderfully on these little tiny things.. With each pair I make, not only does it become easier, but they look nicer. The yellow and blue pair were my first ones and then the little yellow ones with the pink flowers. Made the red ones last night and lined with a cozy flannel. Patrick (my eleven year old) said he thought they would be nice to wear in the winter and could I maybe make him a pair!
Hope you all have a super day!

Thanks, Debby for the cute disney tag!!

Hope you like the tags I made for each of you.. I tried to do something that reminded me of each of you..Here is the original "tag post" from Debby's blog..

The tag goes like this: Write 8 of your blog friends names in a unique way and post them. Then come back over and let me know. You must write the blogger's name that tagged you.

I really truly believe that..

fall is finally on its way. It is crisp in the mornings now and Patrick even wore a sweatshirt this morning..Of course we do have to leave the house at 7 in order for him to get to his school on time! It will be a long year with all this commuting but well worth it! We just love our charter school. Oh well, this is his last year there! The first card I have posted is one I made for my older son to give to an 80 year old lady he plays Mahjonn with. If you don't know what this is, it is an old Chinese game that uses tiles and lots of patience and memory! Perfect for him! My mom plays and he wanted to learn so she taught him.. The only problem is, there aren't that many people that play it around her. She plays with a group of ladies and she is the youngest at 72! No matter, he has played with them all summer and his friends think it is a hoot! All the old ladies love him and loved the card. I hate to tell you the inside sentiment (his choice) "It is so Awesome you aren't dead yet" He assured me that she would love it.they all thought it was hilarious!!

The second card is for a challenge I posted over on another site. The challenge was to use felt in some way. I have been using felt now for quite awhile and love the softness it gives a card. It also adds dimension and texture. Love to pink the edges and sew on it too! I used an image from the net and printed it onto the felt then just sewed around the edges. Hope you can find some felt and make a felt card today!

It 's Back to school time!

Well, I have to say that I am glad it is time for school to start.. so are my boys! As I have said before I really don't like summer. at all!! It has been so hot for so long now that it is nice the mornings are starting to be cool. Love to sit out on my patio in the morning with my cup of tea and look at my pretty rose bushes.. Patrick's school always has a "Back to School" fundraiser and I, of course, always get asked to make something. This year I made one of my "Teacher Survival Kits" I used the same Daisy D's paper (LOVE that vintage school paper), but this time I also used some felt and tags and rick rack. I really like how this turned out and I hope it nets lots of money! My picture taking skills leave lots to be desired, as does my patience when taking pictures, but I wanted to show you the tin itself. I used a Provo Craft lunch box and filled it with lots of little necessities..with a matching poem to go with each one. Skittle, Hugs and Kisses, a rubber band, an eraser, some marbles, lifesavers, a puzzle piece and finally a piece of string..
The boys and I saw the new Rush Hour movie today and it didn't disappoint.. FUNNY!! Now, I am off to the kitchen to make spaghetti for dinner and whip up a chocolate zuchinni cake.. The cake is by special request! It is the easiest recipe and yummy to boot! Have a wonderful Saturday evening,,whatever you are doing!

Since my muse has been away (visiting who knows who!!) and I have just been purging and organizing, I decided to post some of the cards that I made a while back.. I started these "Life's Simple Pleasures" cards for my parents last summer. I made them file folder style and gave them a box to keep them in. This was the first one. They so enjoy spending time with Patrick that I thought it would be appropriate! Making the cards also made me think about the little pleasures in life that I so often forget to appreciate.
The number two card were some photos from their garden.

One more thing.....

I just have to share one more picture with you all.. This is my most devoted scrapping companion.. He listens to my complaining at all hours.. is with me no matter what time I am here.. early or late. I can't get him to go to bed alone... and I just love feeling him at my feet when I am working.. never talks back, never asks for anything, except hugs and a walk each day..what more could a person want in a scrap companion??

Organize, Organize, Organize!!

Yep, that is what I have been doing for the last few days. .. and I am still not finished! But I wanted to share a couple of things that I HAVE accomplished.. DH made me a copy of the "behind-the-door" punch hanger that I saw on this blog: http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/ It isn't exactly the same, but very similar. I just bought a piece of molding and painted it with some of the leftover paint that I used on the guest room.
Then put the four cafe rods on it.. then we attached it to the door. It works perfectly and the punches don't fall off! Now, I just need to get the rest of the big punches! Just waiting for a sale. The rest of my punches I store in the drawer of a cart.. The second idea I got from her was the candy jars from Walmart! I had my ribbon in quart canning jars, but liked the idea of the candy jars much better. I ran right down and bought them out! Six jars and 120 clothes pins later...voila! These are shelves that are inside the closet. The button holder is underneath my most favorite picture. It is a Mary Engelbreit print that I bought several years ago and framed. That was one of my first picture projects. I used red polka dot fabric to cover the mat. Sorry there is so much glare on the photo.. The button holder underneath, I just love.. I bought the set of six plastic Making Memories jars and put them into this little rack that I had. Used some old prima bottles for the black and white and clear buttons.. All the extras are in a HUGE jar, that looks nice just sitting on top of my hutch. There you have it.. my little accomplisments for the last few days. (that is in addtion to the umpteen loads of laundry, they wonderful meals I have cooked and the bread I have baked.. oh, and lest I forget, the yummy coconut cake! I hope to have the rest of my room looking happy by tonight!!