Time to Make Some More Cards.. :)

So far, all I have done is this one. But I have thought a lot about making cards, and looked at a lot of ideas. Does that count? I kind of like this one. I saw someone else's card (similar to this layout, but a birthday card). I thought "That would work for a lot of sentiments.." And made this one. I am going to join the card swap for October in the Just Because Greeting Card Group. So, I thought I would get a head start on making cards for it. Plus I just need cards to send people, anyway. I might make a bunch of these. I need to get some more of the little leaves. The original card, which I saw at Card Making World; looks like she just used a leaf punch out (which- I have the exact same punch out, but no leaf stamp just like it...) I guess it wouldn't matter. But I like to have my leaves all the same. ??  I used a butterfly stencil to make the "swirling wind" (at least that's what I thought it would look like) effects with embossing. I think it turned out pretty cute. I need to find some envelopes the right size for this card. Or make some...  Hmm..

I saw an adorable new Bear with Balloons this morning on Suzielah's blog! I love it.  (I will never finish any Christmas Stockings, I keep getting sidetracked by all this cuteness...  :P )  It made me think of my Bear with Balloons Cards I make. That would be cute to give together with Sue's bear, as a present. :) 

UFO, FO, Puppies, and Pancakes

Since I took a picture of this, I might as well blog about it.. :P  This is my oldest sons' afghan I am making him. Whether he wants it or not.. lol.  (I hope he will want it.)  I started this as part of his graduation present. Yeah. See how long it's taking me?...   I jokingly said, "I will probably finish this by the time he moves out and it will be a graduation/Housewarming present." Well, I'm even late to the game for that one, too.  Sigh. It will just have to be a present. :P

And, here is an FO. My third "Simple Shrug" I have finished. A friend of ours saw the one(s) I did, on FB. She asked if I could make one for her daughter. I said I could! :)  I used Simply Soft for this one, and an H hook. It came out just on the small size of gauge. But, she wanted a size small. So I think it worked out well..

Here it is on me. I shouldn't have tried it on. Now I have to wash it.  lol.

And look what I got in the mail the other day!!! An RAOK. <3  Someone sent Hobby Lobby to me. :D  I have never tried "I Love This Yarn".  I can see why it is named that. It's sooo soft! And all different colors; to make friendship squares, and who knows what else? :D  I am thinking maybe a scarf for Pine Ridge, with the burgundy. And maybe another shrug with the plum color? I used just over 6 ounces for this last shrug I did, and the skein is 7 oz, plus two little balls extra. So I should definitely have enough.  Thank you, Madison! <3  <3 <3

And, it's been a while since I posted any Puppy Pictures...  :D   This is Max, again. (My brothers' puppy.) He's SO CUTE!!! I just want to hug him, and squeeze him, and kiss him, and love him! And call him George. :P  Maybe someday I will get to go visit my brother (and his puppy) again.  He only lives four hours away. 

And here's one of the latest pictures of Jetta... It's a Rough Life, being a Dog...  :P

And here are the pancakes I was talking about...  I saw someones' post on FB about making "Smores Pancakes".  I googled it, since it sounds yummy.  I saw a bunch of different recipes. Some with crushed graham crackers in the batter...  I finally just made regular pancakes, and put all the toppings on: Crushed graham crackers, mini-marshmallows, and chocolate chips. And since we had some, chocolate syrup. (Plus regular syrup.)  And, I have to say, they are yummy. So yummy, in fact, I couldn't finish them. (Too sweet/much, for me..)  :P  But our 8 year old sure did finish his. :D    

"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Well this is a pretty boring video probably to most people. But... I love the rain. (I know, I'm weird..)  It rained here Saturday night. There was an awesome thunderstorm. Me and the kids were watching the lightning in the 14 year olds' bedroom. :P  Then, Sunday it rained, too. There was some thunder, but nothing like Saturday night. Then, it started to hail! I heard it first. At first I thought "Man, it must be pouring!" And I got up to look and saw that it was hail. ("Oh"...)   Maybe that isn't so big of a deal. But in Southern Nevada, it's kind of weird... Right after it started hailing, my husband turned on the Weather Channel and found out there was a Severe Thunderstorm and Flash Flood Warning for the whole county.  Hmm.  I guess that was the worst of it, here. We didn't get any flooding here. But I noticed in spots along our road the next day, there were huge puddles. Remember this post? I didn't mention it in that post, but last year when it rained, our road gave out. It is STILL not finished, and blocked off.  Fortunately, I don't have to drive down there anymore. (Our sons' middle school is (was-since he is in high school now) down there... And, a new elementary school. You'd think they would finish a road that leads to two schools? There are other ways to get to them, but both schools are on or just off this road..)   Anyway~~~

Sunday was a somewhat stressful day. Besides the weather (which wasn't stressful, actually); that morning, Jetta got out the laundry room door (which goes into the garage). The garage door was open, and she BOLTED. I RAN out there, as fast as I could. (No shoes, running on an all rock yard~ Not fun~ I can't even walk on the rocks, let alone run?...)  I yelled, "Jetta!!! SIT!!!!" THANK GOD she listened to me, and I was able to get her.  She was about five feet from the road. That is exactly how Portia got hit by a car.  :(   My feet hurt for a couple hours, afterwards. And I think I tore part of one toenail away from the toe. Today is the first day it doesn't hurt. But, I got her.  We really need to get a fence...  (Sigh.)  Maybe someday when my husband starts working again.        Then,late Sunday evening, our 8 year old threw up. I saw him go in the bathroom and I heard him coughing strangely. I said to my husband, "Is he okay?" (Sounded like a throwing up gag/cough to me..)  Sure enough, it was...  :(   And guess who was unofficially "elected" to clean it up?  Yup, me....   :/  It was all over the bathroom~ Floor, toilet, garbage can, wall, tub....  UGH!!!  But it could have been worse...  If my husband had cleaned it up, it would have doubled or tripled in size, lol.  ;P   Well the next morning~ early in the morning~  I woke up (at 2:30) to check on him, and the couch was gone (the couch he was laying on). And he was asleep in the chair.  Well you know how it is when you're half asleep. I just went back to bed, since he was sleeping and I didn't see anything anywhere.  I learned later on that morning that he had thrown up on the couch (it was in the garage). So, he missed school Monday. And Tuesday I picked him up early since he still wasn't feeling well.  (I won't get into how much homework he had-- UGH!!-- for third grade???)      Well I guess when it rains, it pours.   (Bad joke, I know... :P)

Darth Vader

After making Perry the Platypus, I had to make something for our 14 year old. (I don't know if I mentioned, but he was also having a hard time adjusting to high school.)  I asked him if he liked Perry (that was when he rolled his eyes :P )  He said "No". I said "What would you like? Darth Maul?"  "Yeah". (I knew it..)  "Or Darth Vader?"  (I was pretty sure there wasn't any Darth Maul patterns out there. But I did remember seeing a Darth Vader Hot Sauce Bottle Cover pattern and had been thinking about making one, forever..)   Well, today was the day I finally did it. And I still have enough time to blog about it, before I have to leave to go get the kids. ;P  I just added a bottom, and stuffed it. And sewed on some eyes.  I still need to make the light saber.  I can't find my needle nose pliers, though. And I need to get some pipe cleaners.  I hope he likes it.  He liked the Graduation Teddy Bear that I made him. And the Spongebob.  :)

"Where's Perry?"

The Semi-Aquatic, Egg-Laying, Mammal of Action...  Here he is. :P  I LOVED crochetbugs' Perry, and HAD to try and make one. Even though I don't have the book she used to make some of the parts with. (Like the body and legs).  I was still determined. :)  I used this Guinea Pig pattern as a start off point. BUT, I did only sc's. And, did 27 rounds all together.  For the rest, I winged the arms and legs kind of going by crochetbugs' pictures and guesstimating. The eyes, I just made up. And the bill and tail, I used KristieMN's "Floppy Friends" bunny pattern (the ear), as a start off point, too. (I'm still working on the Knuffle Bunny, here and there, using that pattern...  :P So it was "in my brain".. )  Oh, for the hat, I used a Ken doll hat pattern from an Annie's Attic pattern book I have.    I used Red Heart Super Saver, in "Turqua" and "Pumpkin". And black, and white..  And a G hook. 

I kind of thought, "He's too skinny."  :(  But after looking at pictures online of Perry, I guess he is kind of skinny in "Real Life".  And, my son likes him...  :)  I made Perry for him; since he is trying so hard, and doing so good in school. (He was really having a hard time, these first two weeks-new school/third grade is a lot harder/different than second grade...)  So it was kind of a "reward".     I might make more of these.  The 14 year old rolled his eyes when he saw it. So, I don't think he wants one.  (I will have to try and figure out how to crochet Darth Maul for him... Sigh... Or maybe Darth Vader. Sigh again...  LOL) 

I was asked by a friend to crochet a shrug (the Simple Shrug) for her daughter. :)  I'm kind of excited. I'd been wanting to make another one, but didn't have anyone to make one for...  I will have to go get some navy blue yarn though. So...  I might *have* to go to JoAnns'...  ;P   It's for the step-daughter of my husband's co-worker (who got him the job out here to begin with).  So, I *have* to get nice yarn to make it with. ;)

Witch Doll

I don't think I have ever posted about this...  (Forgive me if I have. :P I haven't been able to find it on here.) If I did, it was a long time ago~ so maybe some of you have never seen it.  Anyway~~ This is a Witch Doll I made for an ami swap on the Friendship Square CAL, for Melissa (a long time ago). Her word was "Halloween".   I don't know why I was thinking about it this morning. (Maybe because it's almost Halloween again and there is Halloween stuff all over the stores lately?)   ;P    I could not find the pattern anywhere. Then I remembered it was "Lis-A-Witch". I typed that in at Ravelry. Nothing came up. I typed in Witch. Nothing... Then I thought "Oh... Maybe it was LIZ-A-Witch"...  Yup!! I was hoping I could make another one (someday~ I am getting so sidetracked from all my Christmas Stockings I'm supposed to be making. Sigh...).  Now I can. Yay! Liz-A-Witch Doll!

A Pullover, And a Shrug...

I finished this pullover this morning. :D  Isn't it cute?  It's for Knit-A-Square.  I also knitted a square. I need to take a picture of that..  The pattern for this pullover, and the square that I knitted, are both on this site. Under "knit instructions".   I'm not quite sure what size this is. But I know some little one will be able to wear it. <3   And it is made with wool. (Not sure exactly what kind, as it came with a Rat Race Scarf pattern kit I ordered and there wasn't a label.) So it will keep them extra warm (I hope).  <3 

And this is another Simple Shrug (<--- Ravelry Page) I finished. (A while ago.) I haven't posted it yet, though. Since I was sending it someone. They are scheduled to receive it today. So I will post this, after I know the person has gotten it. :P  Update: She got it, and she says it's perfect. Yay!! <3

Here it is, on me. (Oops, I see a couple ends sticking out that I hadn't weaved in yet..)  It is a Large, and I wear a Medium.  But I just had to try it on. This is the second one I have made from this pattern; in the December 2010 issue of Crochet World.  This is the first one I made.   

P.S. I see Ads!  Yay... :P  (I had to do something to my blog to make the ads show... Computer illiterate, I am... :P)

Back To School Time :)

I enrolled our youngest son into a new school this year. Long story. If you care to hear about it..  His old school (the oldest school in the county) built a new school~ way on the North end of town. (The old one is on this end.) I guess it makes sense, since there aren't any schools over there. But a lot of people have to go to different schools now.   At the end of last year, it was so confusing. The school newsletter said all students who currently attended would be going to the new school. (An earlier newsletter said they wouldn't.) Then, the last day of school, my son's first grade teacher said that they weren't accepting any variances. So. I just figured I would find out where he was supposed to go and enroll him there.  And I did. The day after I enrolled him, I got a letter in the mail saying the (old) school was a "Needs Improvement" school, and if we wanted to enroll our child in *&%$# Elementary School, they were not a Needs Improvement school.  :0   (That's the school he will be attending.) So I am feeling good about things now.  Then that same day, I got a phone call from the (old) school saying his new teacher is...      o.0   (sigh...)   Anyway, I took this picture the day I enrolled him. :P  We met one of the third grade teachers. Won't find out who his teacher is until tomorrow night at Open House. :)

We went for a little road trip (only a couple hours). There is a candy store about two hours from here. We went there once, for something to do. And there is a town park nearby so we went there, too. Now it has become a thing to do. Our youngest son thinks it is big fun.  :P  Although the park equipment was too hot to play on. :(   We did see some wild donkeys on the way home.  One came right up to our car. (Which makes me kind of nervous... That it might get hit by a car, you know..)     :/    It was really neat, though.  And I think (hope) people in town know about the donkeys, and look out for them. (This was right in "town", by the way.)  

My husband was nervous that it might jump up on the car. (I kind of was, too. My window was down.) :0  So we took off~ and this was the picture I got. Oh well.  There was another donkey under the tree in the background (on the left of the tree).

And, a knitting project I have been working on. I recently joined the Knit-A-Square group on Ravelry. I am almost done with this. I'm actually all done with the knitting. I just have to sew it up. I've been weaving in ends..  I haven't done any knitting in a while. I don't know why. I love it. 

P.S. Do you see any ads on this blog? I tried singing up for AdSense, and I see blank areas (where an ad might be?)....   But, I don't think I did it right.  :/

Santa Pillow

I got a Mary Maxim catalog in the mail recently. I was looking through it to see if there were any cute holiday patterns. I found a cute Santa Pillow. The kit was something like $15.99.  I *almost* ordered it, cuz the pillow is so cute. But, we don't have any money right now. :P  So yesterday I went on Ravelry to see if anyone maybe had a free version of it, or something else that might be cute enough... Well, I found out that this is a FREE PATTERN!! I love free patterns!! (If after signing in, it doesn't take you directly to the Santa Pillow, just go to search and type Santa Pillow in~ That's what I had to do.) So, I immediately started one. I saved us $15.99 plus shipping. $20 extra bucks we didn't have anyway. :P  

So, anyway~~   Does this look right to you? Sigh...   Maybe I need to buy a pillow form, so I can see where I need to stop crocheting.  And re-do the beard part. It looks way too long. I think Santa needs a beard trimmer for Christmas. lol..

An FO~ But Not The One I Mentioned...

See what happens when you have a bazillion projects going at a time? Sometimes you finish a lot of them all around the same time. Then it looks like you are a mad crocheting woman. Hee hee.  This is my third Pressed Flowers Afghan! I wonder when I started my first one. Anyway, this is for Nia. A 13 or 14 year old girl on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  I send things to her Grandma, who is raising her and her little cousin.  I made her cousin an afghan a year or two ago: Granny Star Afghan for Dre.  (What do you know? There's another Pressed Flowers Afghan in that post... How weird is that? :P) 

One side, folded up. I used some variegated yarns in this one. And black, and white. I broke my own "rules" for the first two of these I made. (No black or white, no variegateds...)  :P  I know, I'm strange.  :P

And the other side, folded up.  I still have not heard anything from the other girl I made one of these for.  Delivery Confirmation said it was delivered. But...  I don't trust it.  :/    ~~~Anyway~~~   I hope she likes it. Her Grandma does write to me and says thank you once in a while. (They also send me jewelry they made for me.)  So...  <3  That isn't why I do this, but it's nice to know what you do is appreciated.  :)

Here is an afghan I started for the Grandma. <3  It's just like mine. Except, different colors in different orders...   I love my afghan.

And, I got my sons' afghan out, to start working on it again last night. Since I finished Nia's. (I was using the off white for hers...)  It's just a rectangle granny.  But... I like it. I hope he will, too.  I made one like this (different colors) for their Grandpa. 

Still Crocheting...

Friendship Squares, mostly...   This is the "Frame A Flower" square. I found it on crochet pattern central, under 6 inch squares.  I just kept going with it to make bigger sized ones. (One of these I made for my own afghan.)

This is the Criss Cross square, from "200 Crochet Blocks" by Jan Eaton.

This is actually a dishcloth pattern. But I thought for sure it was in the 200 Crochet Blocks book. I looked later, and it is.  I wanted to do alternating rows of the blue & burgundy. I knew I wouldn't have enough. I should have just done the square blue and the rest burgundy... Oh well.

This is "Daisy Chain" also from the 200 Crochet Blocks book.  I really like this one. I keep making it in different color combinations. :)  This is the only one I haven't sent out yet. I just made this one yesterday.  I wasn't feeling well at all yesterday. I felt like I was coming down with a flu or cold. Kinda feel better today. Maybe it was a one day thing. I hope. Don't need the kids getting sick, right when school is going to start. (Ugh..)

I crocheted another little Q-tip Holder. I made one of these for our kids' bathroom before. I don't know why, I just got in the mood to make another one. I'm sending this to someone on Pine Ridge. I sent her some towels before (lavender, and light green.) So hopefully this will match her bathroom. I don't know. If not, she can stick it in the cupboard. :P

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I did finish something else, too (something kind of big!). But I don't want to ruin the surprise. So I will wait until after the person gets it, to post it here...  :D  

Polka Dot Christmas Stocking

After my blog post this morning, I went and got the remaining motifs and stocking out & finished it. :D  After finishing all my friendship squares I wanted to finish something else.  I still have at least four more of these to go. (Not the same pattern, but four more stockings..) 

I'm still weaving in a hundred loose ends. I tried crocheting over them when I could, but sometimes there were too many.  It's Priscilla Hewitt's Polka Dot Christmas Stocking pattern.

It's Still Christmas... In August! :P

I got another HIJ RAOK!! I couldn't believe it. It was from sopo & lil-hippie (Mom & daughter) <3.  I kept pulling things out of the puffy and thinking "Huh?"...  Two squares, two cards with "Tina" on them. I figured out it was from two different people~ It's a Two For One!! :D   This square and FBB cell phone cozy (and beautiful card) is from sopo. I love it all! The square is my absolute favorite color right now.

And this is from lil-hippie.  A matching square & (adorable!!) owl.  And, a hemp keychain (I love the way it smells). I put it on my keys already. And the cutest little doggy card. :P  Thank you so much, sopo and lil-hippie. 

I put the owl on my bookshelf next to the angel pin that Mary sent me, too.  <3

And,  I finally got some more black yarn. (Do you want to hear the story of how I *didn't* get black yarn?... Probably not...)  Well, we went yesterday: did some school shopping for the kids, and I got to go to JoAnns!!  I just got black yarn, and some white baby boucle for some Christmas Stockings I am going to crochet. (That was enough!~ Yarn is getting way ridiculous. I saw some skeins for $10~ And if I remember they were only Red Heart.?) Anyway. So...  I was able to finish edging and putting together all my friendshipghan squares I have gotten so far!

And, I got some crocheting in yesterday, too. Some more squares to send out.  Jetta was helping me. :P  I laughed when she climbed in next to me & put her paw on my yarn, like she was helping me. "Here, use this yarn..". :P She kept doing it, too. I told Eon, go get my phone (please)?..   (I don't know why her ears are plastered to her head... Maybe she was afraid of my phone. lol..)   Um, she really smells by the way. Good thing this picture isn't a scratch n' sniff.  I need to give her another bath.  Maybe I can con Eli into doing it. He likes to do it, for some reason..  And Jetta is easy to give baths to. (Well she used to be. She was too afraid to move so she just sat there.) Now might not be so easy. We'll see... 

Here are all my motifs for my Polka Dot Christmas Stocking. This one is going to be for me. How selfish of me, eh? To make mine first?..  But no one else knows what kind they want/doesn't care. So. I picked one out I liked, and thought, "Maybe if I make one, then they can all decide..."  I have almost all of it done. I got to the heel part and got SO confused.  I think I might have it figured out.  I'll have to finish this when I'm not tired.  After this I will start my husband's and then my brothers'. (I'm making the same ones for both of them.) The  from the Lion Brand Yarn site: Holiday Cheer Stocking..    My husband said he wanted just a plain red one with a white top.  So, I went on Ravelry and looked at Christmas Stockings & found one I liked..  :)

I got a new magazine the other day. (I'm a magazine junkie~ A crochet magazine junkie, at least..)  This has an adorable snowman and some Christmas Ornaments (crocheted). I kept picking it up & looking at it. And finally decided to buy it..

Last night Eon said "Tomorrow can you wake me up like two minutes after you get up?"  lol!...  I said "How about two minutes after I've had my coffee?"  (It's been a lot more than that...)   I am going to let him sleep. It's summer time! Kid needs to get all the sleep he can. School will be starting soon & he'll have to get up early then...  

Cracker Jack Cookies

Don't look very good, do they? (Hang on... It gets better. ;P)  When we went to Colorado last December & visited our friends, my girlfriend had made some Cracker Jack Cookies. I had never heard of them.  I asked for the recipe. This is the second time I have made them. I was getting so frustrated, because this is what they came out looking like. But the cookie dough tastes awesome. I couldn't see how they kept coming out so terrible.  So, I went online and googled the recipe. After reading some of the reviews, I figured out you are supposed to use ALL the ingredients.  I thought you just used any of the ingredients that you had on hand. (I am so dizzy sometimes...)  Well after having my husband bring me home some chocolate chips, I still ended up having to go to the store for other ingredients, which I didn't have (shredded coconut & oatmeal).  I didn't even want to use coconut, since I hate it. But in one of the reviews I read, it said the coconut is really what holds these cookies together. And, you can't even taste it.    Oh, and I used some almonds, leftover from when I made the strawberry mice.

But look how much better they came out! I only added one cup of coconut & one cup of oatmeal (and a pinch of salt~which wasn't on my recipe), since I had already used probably half the cookie dough.  I'm so happy, cuz these are awesome cookies!!  And I have enough stuff to make more, later.   Except chocolate chips.... :P  

This recipe is exact-atacly like the one I used: Cracker Jack Cookies II Recipe  Funny, I thought it was a newer recipe. Turns out it is a really, really old recipe!! Obviously, it has stood the test of time.  :)  I'm going to print this recipe out, since it's a little more clear than the one my friend wrote out for me.  :)

My "New" Craft Room

Well, it isn't totally organized yet. But... Here is my "new" craft room.  :)   I think I mentioned before that our 19 year old moved out at the end of May. Well we moved the 8 year old (this was his room) into his older brother's old room (after painting & cleaning it!). Then, I moved all my stuff into this room.  (Can you believe all this was in my bedroom?!! :0  Some of it was stuffed under the bed & in the closet... ) 

The book shelves. 

Kind of messy corner (all the bags of stuff were under my bed~ the clothes hanger thingy was for our son, since there isn't a closet in here~ since it isn't a real bedroom..) 

My yarn "bins". And puppy. :P  She loves coming in there. I put all my stuff in her corner (so she can't go back there & hide anymore). So she was pouting. ;P

My window. :D  And sewing machine. Which I *will* learn to use one day! (Maybe after the kids go back to school...)

My Crochetville bag. :P  (I don't know if you noticed the one Mary Jo sent me, too~ third picture from the top?... :D )

This is what it looked like, before organizing it. (Even though I still have a lot more to do..)  This wasn't even after all my stuff was in here. It did look worse than this. I got the two hamsters out, though; and in my sons' room.  I might move them back in here; I don't know~ Once school starts.  We'll see.. 

I hope to get a second hand chair to sit in, in here (and a sewing table & chair, too) ~~~  someday..  :)  I am just happy I have a craft room again.  :)

Tie Dye T-Shirt

Well, what do you think? I think it turned out all right.  He wanted to squirt splashes of color on the parts that didn't have rubber bands on them. It's a good thing he did, otherwise it would have been pretty pale.  We did forget one of the rubberbanded parts which was the other sleeve. (Sigh.) Oh well.  I think he had fun, and it turned out all right. 
I just realized you can see me taking the picture, in the mirror..  Aaaaah! No make up, I just got out of the shower & I'm in my robe!!...   :0   lol...   (Good thing it's not a close-up :P  )   Eon had just gotten up, too. So that's why he's got bed head and is tired looking... :P

Close-up of the center part which turned out pretty cool.

And the sleeve.  

I got the instructions on Family Fun: Tie-dyed T-shirts.  I was trying to think of other things we could tie dye. Since we still have two bottles of the dye left...  Hmmm...