craft storms

Where do I begin??? Let's see...I went to Michael's Sunday afternoon. DH stayed home with the boys and I was able to have "me" time, which is rare these days. It seems I'm always with my children. Do you have the same problem I have? I can't seem to leave Michael's in a timely manner. I end up going down every aisle even if I have no clue what kind of craft I'm looking at. I always figure that I might see something that'll spark an idea for a project or that it might stretch my cross stitching into some other dimension. I just don't know what it is. I stayed at Michael's for at least an hour. Hey, when I have time alone I'm going to take ALL the time I can. Time is priceless, right, and with an 11 year old and 17 month old I will use that time as wisely as I can. In this case, it was with Michael's. LOL

I was driving my little cart down an aisle I have no business being in and all of a sudden this little guy called out to me, "tweet-tweet!". I couldn't resist. I had to make him mine and he flew home with me. :o) Isn't he cute?

I want to do better at celebrating special occasions and holidays. If not for me, for my children's sake. I was inspired this past week, as I often am, and it was by two of my Stacy Nash Groupie members. Michelle posted about a small Valentine's Day project she conjured up in 2007. She used a white metal tree and hung handmade hearts from the limbs. I was really taken with the project and wished that I had one or had thought of that myself. Here was Michelle's Valentine's Day tree last year. It's such a pretty display! But this isn't all...oh no! Tanya posted a similar theme in her home and I was even further inspired. Tanya gave me permission to add her photo to my blog (Thanks again, Tanya!). So looky-look...here is Tanya's tree! Aren't her samplers gorgeous too!!!

Tanya's Valentine display is so sweet and precious ~ and one I thought I could semi pull off. Maybe not as well as Tanya, but somewhat similar. :o) Tanya took sticks from her yard and adorned it with hearts.

And this one is mine.

I know...it doesn't compare to Tanya's and Michelle's, but can't blame a girl for trying. I had fun setting this all up. Jose played a little pretend and put the sticks up above his head. I swear, he looked like a deer! LOL It was funny. [Note to self: In case I need antlers, check in back yard and use Jose as a prop.]

Here are some more displays; some for Valentine's Day (I know early, but ahhhh) and some for just because I was in a mood to craft...it...up!

The two primitive hearts were displayed during Christmas and I think they were intended as ornaments, but I didn't use them as such. So, I've brought them out once again. I think they work for Valentine's Day too, don't you think? The round pink pillow was mine as a young toothless child. My Aunt Pam used her Viking machine to embroider "Julie's Tooth Fairy Pillow," a bunch of "Julie's" running across the back, and the little pocket in front says "Julie's Tooth." I remember using this too. I would put my pearly whites inside and lay it next to me at night. Morning would come and quarters would be in place of the tooth. I think it looks Valentine-y, don't you think? It's sweet and I thought it should be displayed out in the open. I normally have it in my glass cabinet, but this year it makes its debut. LOL

Here's a display on my dining room/kitchen wall that has been ongoing. (By the way, I plan on changing the blue wall. It's a faux finish I did 3 years ago. Anyhoo...moving along---) The little apron was made by my other grandmother, Atrelle. She was never a seamstress, but it's a keepsake and I simply adore it. It has little imperfections here and there, but it's still great, nonetheless. She made it for me when I was a little girl. My mother has had it all these years and she just gave it to me over Christmas. I completely forgot all about it, but I'm glad I have it in my home now. The needlework belonged to my very creative grandma, Annamae. The verse, as we all know, is When you see this, remember me. And naturally, I do! The red checkered print is paper I bought from Michael's in the scrapbooking area. It was just plain ole cork board underneath and it was stained and yucky. It needed a face lift and I was happy to oblige. I drew the bird myself! Heehee

I didn't stitch on Sunday or today and I'm really bummed about it. This morning, though, Cameron had to go back to the doctor for a re-check on his ear infection. He's had 5 ear infections since July 31 and been on 4 different antibiotics. The doctor has referred us to an ENT so we'll be going there in 2 weeks. Cameron will probably need tubes. My oldest had two sets of tubes put in his ears when he was a toddler. I'm a little concerned for Cameron. He isn't talking yet and I'm starting to wonder if it's because he isn't hearing properly due to the ear infections. This is something I'll definitely bring up at the ENT appointment. Cameron also got the second dose of his flu shot today and he didn't even cry!!! I was oh so proud of my baby boy!

I mentioned I have been sorting through my WIP and Current Rotations and I've started to think about my list of stitching goals for 2009. I will post this sooner rather than later. I finally organized everything today though and I wanted to at least show everyone my progress on the Ages of Man by Long Dog Sampler. This is a big-in! I'm probably about 70% done with it. Here's a look.

This bad boy has taken way longer than I thought it would. I've been stitching on this for nearly a year and a half. Of course, it is in the Current Rotation basket but has now jumped into the WIP basket. This thing almost takes up a whole basket all by itself. It's huge and there is a ton of floss. So much thread that I have 3, yes 3, thread control systems. One is floss bags to hold the skeins. Two is the thread cards to hold an entire ply of a specific color. And three is the thread & needle organizer; therefore, I don't have to constantly retrieve a needle and switch threads every time I need a new color. Because let's face it, there is an insane amount of color changing in this piece. Anyhoo, it's going to look fantastic all stitched and framed up. I can't wait!!!

A few evenings ago it was pleasant enough to take Cameron outside. He needs outside every now and then because the boy just get so cooped up ~ he gets crazy! Our biggest problem outside is that he is constantly wanting to head for the street. Unfortunately, we live on a cut through street so it sees lots of traffic. It used to be 40 mph, but bc of complaints and concerns the county reduced the speed to 35. Oh boy - big whoop! People still go way too fast. In 3 years, we've had 3 deaths by car accident and 2 other car crashes where no one was injured. Anyway...Cameron is always heading for the street so this makes it difficult for us to enjoy the front yard. We have a big wooden swing on the front porch and a beautiful magnolia tree. The backyard is dog territory and we own 3 cars, so needless to say there is poop (we have 3 dogs) like land mines and car stuff. It just isn't always the ideal spot for Cameron to play at the moment. Okay, so it was getting tiring chasing him up the driveway so we headed for the back. Luckily we have a fence so we closed it. He didn't like being put behind bars.

This boy will stop at NOTHING!! I've never in my life met a baby as determined as this one. He just doesn't quit.

I'm off to bed. My head is hurting ~ had this stinking headache all day and my back hurts. Goodnight!