Hugs are Awesome!

Jenn from Living a Changed Life shared the following video this week on her blog.  I have to say, like her, I am not usually into forwards.  I was surprised at my emotional response to this.  Hope you all enjoy it.  I thought it was awesome. 

Wordless Wednesday - Dining Room Crafting Area

Working Ahead....

I've been trying to work ahead on some of my projects.  The last several years I have had some kind of hand made "goodie" to give out to my senior adult ladies at church on Mother's Day.  I came across this idea on the "Organize and Decorate Everything" blog. I love that it is simple to make, inexpensive and useful!  I started out using a stamp set that I already owned.  Individual letters, one at a time was taking too long. 

SO!  I used a coupon at Michael's and purchased a set of clear alphabet stamps. 

With these stamps you can use an acrylic base and create a whole word.  Makes the stamping go much faster.  I used (the recommended) Staz-On ink pad.  It is designed to be used on non-porous surfaces that you usually couldn't stamp on because the ink wouldn't dry.  I'm not sure it was necessary on wooden clothespins. 

At my local grocery store they had clothespins that were bamboo.  In retrospect, I think they would have been an excellent choice for this project and the Staz-On would have worked well on bamboo.

I had a hard time keeping the ink from soaking in and having a smeary look.  As I worked, I discovered that a light touch with the stamp was the key.  You want to push the stamp hard enough to get a good imprint but not stay long enough to put too much ink on the clothespin. 

Of course I can never do small quantities of anything.  :-)  I made 100 sets of 6 clothespins.  It really didn't take all that long using the new letter stamps. A couple of evenings at the kitchen table.

Here is my finished product.  You can see they are not perfect.  :)  However, I think they will be a fun to hand out on Mother's Day. 

The Gift of Memories

 Recently I shared with you about the loss of our friends, George and Florence Webb.  George was the Pastor that married us in 1978.  In 1979 our church celebrated the Webb's anniversary with a hand made quilt.  Each of the families at church embroidered a quilt block with their name on it.  Because they didn't have children, George's nephew asked if we would like to inherit this quilt.  We were thrilled!  So many memories!  I believe my grandma had a part in the actual putting together and/or quilting.  She had just retired and was doing a lot of quilting at the time.

 This block is my husband's parents and youngest brother.

 This is my aunt and her 2 children.

 This is grandma's block and I love the fact that it is her handwriting!

 This is us!  Young, just married, before children and oh so in love!

The quilt is huge!  It is a generous king size!  We are so excited to have this special gift.  Lots of memories come back as we read all the names from our past......

A Gift From the Heart

This year for Christmas, my mom made a quilt for each of the girls.  Mom is a pretty amazing seamstress!  I think the quilts are.....you guessed it......AWESOME!  :-)  Just thought I'd share a few pictures.

Katy's Quilt



 Love the multi-color stitching on Katy's cowgirl quilt!

 I think it looks great in Katy's room with the pink wall and black sofa.


Becky's Quilt

 High heels seemed like a perfect choice for Becky's quilt!  Miz Becky is a little "height challenged" and she wears high heels a lot.  I am always amazed that she can walk in those things!

I did NOT inherit the quilting gene.  My girls can't even sew a button or hem a pair of pants.  LOL.  Makes us especially appreciative of these quilts.  I think mom did an AWESOME job!

Thankful

I was thinking about how long it's been since I've written on here and came across this post I had started before Thanksgiving and never used.  Decided "thankfulness" should be a year round event so here you go. I am so thankfull for my girls.  They bring a lot of JOY to our home.  I can't imagine life without the spark they add.

Who ARE these old people and how did they get that way?  I am thankful for the man that has loved me all these years!(My mother in law, my girls and my mom.)

Thankful for family!

(Marlene, Mark, Karen)
Thankful for my brother and sister.

Thankful for friends.
Alice, on the left, has been my neighbor for more than 25 years! 

Kathi, on the right, is a friend.  Kathi and I sit together every Sunday in church.  Someone asks almost every week if we are sisters!  It always makes us laugh.  We do look a lot alike. We also have the same hairdresser. :-)

I'm thankful that my brother works for the airlines which allows me to travel to my mom's house every year and play in her craft room!

 

I'm thankful for my friend, Janelle, who got me started card making this year.  This was an especially difficult year for her.  I think the crafting was therapudic for both of us!

Thankful for my friend, Marilyn!  Lunches out, shopping trips, hair appointments, decorating advice, etc.  Friends since before I had children, wrinkles or a middle age spread!

If you are reading this, I am thankful for YOU!  Blogging is a new challenge for me this year.  I am thankful for your comments, imput and help along the way!

 

Wishing you a happy 2011!