Happy Birthday Bean!

1991......7 lb 15 oz.
17 years ago God blessed us with a bouncing baby boy! (yeah, don't be jealous of my giant glasses!)


1995 --approx. 40 lbs.

He's been such a joy in our lives--

2008.....about 190 lbs!

and we are very proud of the fine young man he has become!

Tonight we are taking him to his first big concert---guess who it is?? (It's NOT AC/DC--though that would be pretty cool!) You will have to click the link to see who it is!
We're so excited!

Stu-stu-studio!

I got so busy that I forgot to brag about cleaning my studio! Yes. It took me about 5 dedicated days to do. I just couldn't stand it any more. Too much stuff, all piled everywhere, there were even places that I couldn't get to without moving a bunch of stuff (I'm so ashamed!) It got to be stressy to work in there.
I have a nice, big studio--hubby actually split the basement in half and one half is my studio! He worked so hard to turn a dark, dreary, dirty basement into a lovely space, and added lots of custom features, made to my specifications. My favorite is a giant cutting table (4' x 8'), (with shelves underneath) that is the perfect height for me when standing--no more stooping or reaching--and no more back aches! My sewing machine sits right next to it--it's a nice and convenient work space. The ironing board sits at the other end of the cutting table.
See the white multi-drawer unit on the cutting table above--well, I sweet-talked this old guy out of that during a garage sale! LOL--he had a bunch of hardware in it--and I actually smoozed him into emptying it out and selling it to me for $15. Yeah, it's good to be the Queen. Of course, it wasn't as pretty then as it is now, but after a good clean up and some experimenting with crackle paint , there it is! That little house that sits on top is a cover that hubby made for my spare sewing machine. We recently helped my Aunty Connie move into an apartment, and she gave me that cute yellow table. I brought it down and created this little crafty cubby on the crafty side of my studio. I have an astounding amount of stuff organized into this relatively small area!A major part of my re-organizing consisted of moving all the books I had (I could open a library of crafting books!) on this shelf over to the shelving on the other side of the room and moving all the tote boxes of fabric that were there over to these shelves! All the fabric yardage came out of the boxes and were folded and stacked here! What a treat! It's all over by my sewing table now and I can see it all! Love, love, love.And--all my thread is now out of the boxes too and put in this cool thread holder ---this was a thrift store find, I believe it was a salesman's sample case, because it folds closed and locks . I had the hubby screw it into the wall. Each one of those little spool shelves actually swing out for easy access to the spools.

I hope you enjoyed your little tour!

Tipsy Tuesday

Hiccup.

Hello peeps, and welcome to my new feature---Tipsy Tuesday. So, let's all go get our favorite libation and get to work!
LOL! OK, ok.....not that kind of tipsy, but TIP-sy. I always love to get tips that are useful in my home or crafting, how about you? I thought I'd offer up a helpful hint or tip or share a gadget that has been useful to me. I'd love it if you would share your tips too--either post one on your own blog and shoot me a link--I'll add it to my next week's Tipsy Tuesday post OR just share it in the comments here and I'll do the same thing. Yeah!!

I've been trying to get a little crafting done (trying!) - the kids are back to school now and things are starting to slow down to a manageable level. My local quilt shop runs a Fat Quarter sale every so often where you go pick out 20 fat quarters for a special price (yeah, love THAT!) and I found this darling fabric at the most recent one---- and made a cute bag from it !And a little matching wallet too

And then another wallet in black and white dots--with blue as the accent color Which leads me to my first TIP! Well, it's a gadget actually. Who puts snaps in their items?? Pain in the booty, right? I've even looked into getting a snap setter machine, but the prices are WAY out of my price range! One day I ran across this little baby, The SnapSetter, and it was so reasonably priced that I thought, "what the heck--I'll give it a shot!". Let me tell you, folks, it's a dream. Yup. No more wrecked items from trying to remove those stupid snaps that went on crooked. It's so simple, yet effective and easy to use! I just love it.You follow the manufacturer's simple directions, smack it with a hammer, and that's it! I am not being paid at all for mentioning this, but.... if someone from The SnapSetter happens to see this and feels like gifting me with some free snaps...well, I guess I could be all right with that! LOL
Well, that's it for today. Remember to share your helpful tips and hints--I'd sure appreciate it!

I get to go and babysit my little nephew later on today while Paul goes in for his radiation treatment- I love 3 year olds and I'm really looking forward to it!

Bye for now :o) Hugs.

Back in the Groove

Hello friends! I feel so bad for neglecting you--but after the RIDICULOUSLY BAD week I had last week, I've been busy as heck trying to get back in the groove!

Thank you all so much for your lovely sentiments and prayers and encouragement and hugs--I just re-read through them this morning and am touched to tears by all you caring and lovely people. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Your kindess has inspired me to create this cutey pie---see that smile on her face, it's just like the one I have on mine (oh no, I think our figure is about the same too! yikes!)

I was also smiling pretty big when I got this package in the mail!! I was fortunate enough to win a blog giveaway over at Gina's Lilly*s of London*ish blog!! yeah! Thanks so much Gina--it's a very fun and generous gift !! Check out the goodies:

I've been crafting full swing making up some handy and pretty day planners/appointment books for the new year (the agendas I found have the dates starting in June 2008 and going to January 2010 (yup 2010! aaaarrghhh! can you believe that-- aint' it crazy how the time slips away!) Here is the newest of the bunch

I just love the Free Spirit fabrics--so colorful and whimsical!!

AND last, but not least--lol! I scored a little bit of the vintage rick rack that I like to use on my little shabby coasters, so I whipped this one up. I really enjoy working on these in the evening, they make me happy!

Brother Update: They let Paul go home on Wednesday--he was happy to get home and seemed in very good spirits. He says he isn't really having much pain at all, with the exception of the the skin grafts (I was happy to hear that!) He goes for a follow-up with his surgeon today and a visit to the cancer doc on Tuesday. We are still praying, and so far all the scans haven't turned up any new surprises, thank GOD! We will know more after Tuesday I guess, but I am feeling very hopeful that they got it all. Thanks again to you all for the support, I appreciate it more than you will ever know!

Have a great day!

Brother Update

Hi! I would just like to thank you all for the kindness and prayers...it's been a rough few days, but brother is doing well. His surgery went very well, they removed a golf ball sized tumor from his chest and 3 others from under his arm (one large one in the lymph node and 2 smaller from the area). He is still in the hospital and they are doing some scans and such to make sure the cancer hasn't spread elsewhere--so keep on praying!! He feels good though, and is in good spirits....I just love him so much, he was MY baby when he was small. He's 5 years younger than I and after my parent divorced I took it upon myself to be his mommy--which he didn't mind at all! lol


So, to top it off, my Grandpa died last week too. He was 94, lived a good life, was pretty healthy for most of it, and died peacefully in his sleep--which was a blessing. We had to go out-of-town for his funeral on Saturday. It was a lovely funeral and it was really nice to see so many of my relatives that I don't see often.

Let me tell you, I am ready for a regular old boring week around here--I can do without all the excitement for sure! I just wanted to thank you all for your prayers and good wishes--they are so appreciated! Bye.

Special Prayers Needed

I have a big favor to ask of all you special blog friends---my youngest brother, Paul, has to go in for surgery today to have a melanoma removed, it has progressed rapidly and it is believed that it may have gotten into one of his lymph nodes. All your prayers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks . Hugs.

Back to School is coming up quick.....

Yup--soon the kids will be heading back to school and we all know what that means......time to think up a good way to butter up those teachers!!

You want to make sure that your kids get on the good side of the teacher every year...so they will turn a deaf ear when they hear your child talking about what a hangover their Dad had last weekend, and they just smile and nod when they find out the reason your kid was late to school this morning is because Mom forgot to add coffee grounds to the pot when she pre-made coffee last night and she totally can't function without that half a pot of Joe in the a.m. They will be apt to be more forgiving when your child comes with her History of Minnesota report on 4 sheets of printer paper all taped together instead of a nice sheet of posterboard.

I've learned from experience that it is a good idea to send along little goodies to grease the wheels, so to speak. Like, for instance, send along three or four boxes of Kleenex instead of the one that they ask for...make up a nice muffin basket ....and always include a lovely and thoughtful gift that they will use DAILY, so your kindness won't easily be forgotten. Like a nice agenda/day planner, for instance, would make a lovely gift and something they would use daily.....

Or how about a nice coaster for their desk--something pretty for them to look at while your child is busily shooting spitballs at the ceiling and eating paste. (You might even want to include a nice big box of chamomile tea with this, for calming jangled nerves).

Heck, maybe you ought to make it a coaster SET..........for those days when the kids just had a big old bowl of Captain Crunch for breakfast and are all sugared up when they get to class

Just some helpful ideas for you to ease the whole Going back to School thing.....now let's get those little darlings all dressed up in their new outfits and glowing white tennies and off to SCHOOL! Yeah!

Now....off to make sure the champagne is properly chilled for the big day......

count your blessings

count your blessings
Originally uploaded by misseskwittys

It dawned on me, as I looked at this pic, that my blessings are as numerous as the ridiculous amount of buttons in the drawers behind it! LOL

Do we like the way my desk blotter shows in the pic bottom, or does it just look messy??

Fresh Old Stuff

Hi peeps! I only have a few minutes right now--but wanted to share a couple new items I put in my shop this week. A gal contacted me about making her a bagkeeper for her green/yellow kitchen, so....as I often do, I made 2 of them--you know, so she could have a couple to pick from. Well, I got them done and she didn't like either of them (she doesn't like polka dots, what a weirdo! I had heard that there were people like that out in the world, but I had never actually met one before!!) LOL!

Nooo, I'm just kidding around! Different strokes for different folks, ya know?! Personally, I love polka dots, I think they are charming and sweet--but they are not for everyone :o) Sooooo, now I have a couple new bagkeepers for my Etsy shop!

Here is the first one--it's focal point is a really pretty yellow hanky covered with white flowers-fresh and pretty with it's yellow, green, and cream borders

The next one is called Cottage Roses--again I used a vintage hanky--but this one has pretty coral pink and yellow roses--and that particular lovely vintage green. I used more of the feedsack prints for the borders in this one to give it a real vintage flair. Oh, and a pretty yoyo in the center, just for fun!

Oh, and I also added this sweet little hobnail dish---what a cutey!! Don't you just love those white maple leaves with the shiny gilt?? AND that perfect shade of vintagey Paris pink? Love it!

OK--I have to run! I'm "this close" to finishing my big order and want to get it done today! I have been on the comp way too long already this morning (I had to write up answers to a nice interview on another blog--details soon!) Have a great day everyone--and thanks so much for stopping by--you all make me SO happy when you stop by and leave a comment--it just makes my day!!

HUGS!

Experiment in Blogging

I am always quite sure that the things I'm going to try on the computer have no way of working! Somehow I always think that they only work for other people :oP Seriously, this whole computering stuff just seems like magic to me, hahaha--you do very simple things and amazing things happen--don't ask me how!! See...I am a dork! lol But, I just go ahead and give it the old college try anyways...so here goes.......

The Dance Line Team my daughter is in did a performance at the Spirit Valley Days celebrations this year. I tested out my new camera's video capabilities (which worked just fine! yeah) and now let's see if it can be seen on here.........

She's the cute little blondish one who is off to the left and a little behind the lead center gal through most of the tape and ends up right behind the lead gal at the end. Enjoy!

I just finished watching the video on my blog!! Yeah, it actually worked--I'm so proud **grin**