T stand for....... Glitter, Giggles and Tutu's!!!

The GrandLittles are hereeee.... and my goodness our life has been turned upside down and sideways.... 

......but in a good way .. you know.. I decided to try my hand at making tutu's for the girls.. It looked simple enough.. I was a little surprised how much tulle it took... 

......maybe i'm doing this wrong... ?  And the Glitter ... the GLITTER!!! everywhere..  I could not possible recommend the tulle with Glitter.. Its beautiful but i'm sure it won't be long and there will be no Glitter left on the tutu.. wow! The Glitter avalanche is REAL! 

But they are looking pretty... And except for the Glitter i'm having fun.. :)  I have some fabric roses to sew on ... fun fun.. Then i have a smaller pink and white one to do... Then i will gift them to them when they move to their new apartment... see.. I can be clever... lol 

Last looks at Amigo... She really did put on quite a show.. 

Final finished look at the Bear... I think he came out great.. all refreshed. He is now at his post by the front door.. 

Last but not least a recycled photo for my ticket to the T party..  Its crazy around here.. We have about 10 more days before things slide back the 'normal' range for hubby and i. But i will do my absolute best to get around and visit everyone! Happy happy T day~ Hugs! deb

T stands for..... Finding the Light

......... in the New Year I'am determined to 'find the light'.......  Some people make resolutions, some pick a word...  i'm determined to find the light in all things..... situations, people, encounters... Its something i normally try to do anyway.. its a  mindset i have... but this year i want to pay particular attention to it.. You? 

Remember 'Amigo'? Well she bloomed.... 

Something is not quite right here.... Either the picture on the box is wrong or the wrong bulb got in the box!! LOL ..  After looking on the internet i do not think this is 'Amigo'... infact it looks like 'AppleBlossom'. I'm a little disappointed....  But she's still beautiful... 

My project for the past few days has been Mr. Bear... Hubby and Daughter found him for me oh.. 20+ years ago and he is certainly a little worse for wear.. So he gets a facelift for the New Year... 

He needed a little wood putty around the base and you can see i'm restaining him and repainting his black parts black..  I'll seal him with a clear coat and he can take up his post again at the back door.. Don't miss my ticket to the party... my bottle of water.. 

I'll leave you with the latest addition to my Snowman Collection...Found him at a Flea Market.. i thought he was just so stinkin' cute.. :)  Happy Tday! AND Happy New Year!!  Hugs! deb



 

T stands for... the week before Christmas....

 

Brrrrr......  the nights have been chilly here but the days beautiful.... I have decided to start walking again.... in the middle of Winter... um yeah... And i walk at Dawn.. because... i know me... the longer the day wears on and i get involved in things the less likely i'am to go... so i set my alarm... drag myself out of bed.. have a cup of coffee... dress in layers grab my Ipod and out the door i go.. 2 miles right now.. every other day... This morning i saw pink contrails from airplanes as the sun came up.. really pretty... ice on rooftops... ever notice how Christmas decorations look a little sad in the daylight? 

My very inexperienced hand has been crocheting my Granddaughter (5) her very own afghan in her favorite color... Thank goodness at 5 she will no doubt forgive her Grandmothers bobbles in putting this together... I'm using the 'learn as you go method'... lol ... I had the brilliant or not so brilliant idea of putting glow in the dark beads on it... I wasn't sure i could figure out how to make that work but so far so good... 

I've been embellishing two cute little dolls i found for the Granddaughters stockings... One loves pink and the other purple... My sewing skills are not up to par either... but its been fun and when they are so little alot is forgiven... 

And finally .... i started a recycled project last year and finally finished it yesterday... The squares are plastic packaging material that came in something we bought and i thought ' i can so something with that'..! That happens way too often... and why my craftroom looks like a hoarder's den... I painted the visible portions gold (so nice they make paint that sticks to plastic now) and two sides i covered scrapbooking paper.. I then painted wooden letters and glued them on..

The opposite side has Peace and Joy... I bought the little pedestals at Hobby Lobby.. stained them and glued them on

The little gold buttons were a thriftstore find... they are not all the same but they are all gold.. The plastic squares had 4 holes on top that i want to fill with something and thats the finishing touch i put on this year... 

Having the Granddaughters for Christmas this year i had to find places up high to put things from curious little fingers... Wishing everyone a lovely 'run up ' week to Christmas...and Christmas Day...  I still have wrapping to do... I've procrastinated about as long as i dare... And ofcourse .. Happy happy T day! Hugs! deb

I Did It!!!............

 

I did it!!! I pulled myself up by the bra straps and got myself out the door for a 2 mile walk this morning... I did all the things... set my alarm... actually got out of bed when the alarm went off.. enjoyed a cup of coffee... put on my layers... 36 F out there this morning.. charged my Ipod.. grabbed a bottle of water... and enjoyed the Sunrise just as i was finishing up... Day 1 done and dusted... Hugs! deb

T stands for.... Christmas Spirit...

 Mr and Mrs. Santa Claus have been with me for oh... 36 years i think.. I painted them while i was pregnant with my daughter... they have yellowed with age.. but they have been with me everywhere.. with nary a scratch.. (knock on wood)... I toted them to Germany, Texas, California, Arkansas, and back to Texas.. 

Slowly but surely over the month of December Christmas springs up around the house.. it starts slowly right after Thanksgiving... usually with my Christmas cards... I have every Christmas card i have ever been sent since the beginning of my marriage 34 years ago.. all in a stack with a ribbon around it..

My eclectic Snowman collection....sorry about the bad photo...poor lighting.. They bring me such joy as i unwrap them every year... 

I love my Christmas village.. I try to add a little something every year... 

Another collection... they are made of cast iron and stained glass... i always have my eye out for them in the thrift shops..  i hadn't found one in awhile and then just this year i came across the Santa one at Goodwill i think.. 

I flirted with the idea of making my Christmas cards this year but with time quickly getting away from me i had to pass on that... maybe next year.. But i did manage a prototype.. I watercolored the tree and stamped the fox.. pretty fun!! 

Hoping the Christmas Spirit is finding its way into your life... I'll close with a pic of Hubby eating his very favorite food.... he doesn't get it often so you have no idea just how happy he is sitting there eating his Ramen and Diet Mountain Dew... 😋

So there's my ticket to the T party. If i don't manage to get back on here before Christmas I wish each and every one of you a beautiful Christmas.. I'll be around to visit!! Hugs! deb 

T stands for Playing with Paper....

Enjoying time in the Craft Room... Several years ago i was gifted some long envelopes in the hope i could do something with them.. Well this is what i came up with... The sun is my drawing and everything else is a stamp..The base is a file folder and the colored paper is scrapbook paper.. FUN! And it gave my stamps a much needed work out.. They don't get used near enough.. The coffee in the much loved coffee mug is the ticket to enter Elizabeth's T party... Hugs! deb 

* I've just realized the way i wrote this has led a few people to think that i decorated the envelope. But if you read, it says the 'base' is a file folder. So what i created is a card to go inside the envelopes i was given.... hope that makes sense now... lol 
 

I've Been Missing in Action...

 

I thought i would get myself together and come for T....I've been missing everyone.. First my phone went on the fritz or all the pics in my phone i could not transfer... by the time i got it figured out i had gotten out of the habit of T... and i found it difficult to get myself motivated to make a post... But i picked myself up by the bootstraps and here i'am.. And i know i'll be glad i did..  I found a cement pumpkin at a Yard Sale for $5 and gave him a good paint job.. this is just the gesso first coat.... He had a crack down the middle.. we put on some glue and a prayer and maybe he'll have a few more Halloweens in him...lol 

We had a fantastic Halloween... Well over 50 kids knocked on our door... last 2 years we had 1... So you know i was over the moon!  That tree is a new addition to our Halloween decor... He was the display model at Lowe's. We scored with 75% off! The crow moves his wings and 'caws'... really cool.. It now resides in my craftroom as it was just too cool to put in a box for a year...lol 

This craft project is keeping busy... Years ago we bought a slinky because of a YouTube video we saw about using it to keep squirrels out of our bird feeders... Never got around to that so i'm using it to make a mobile..  I'll show you when i'm all done! 

Veterans Day we spent the day out and about... We had a free breakfast at IHOP... then spent the day at Yard,Garage and Estate Sales... My Keurig went on the fritz just recently and at a Sale we found this one for $5... We thought it worth the chance... So brought it  home, cleaned it up, descaled it etc... and it works like a champ... SCORE! 

I collect these candle holders.... I have trees and wreaths... they are made out of cast iron.. Its been a long time since i've found one.... 

I was so happy to find this one at Goodwill for $2... 

I also found these at Goodwill... They are supposed to be coasters... but i'm seeing ornaments for me tree... with just a few little magic touches from me...lol We ended the day with a free meal at Chili's  Yum... 

With Veterans Day just past and the fact i have had cause to dig through some pictures i thought i would show you some pictures of my Hubby... Above he was fresh out of Basic Training... Look how young he was!!! 

And here's my Honey around 30 about the time we got married.. 

And i came across these last two photos... Above is ME at 3 years old...lol 

And my daughter at 3 years old... So fun to look back... I hope all of you have been doing well while i've been gone.. I'm looking forward to visiting everyone and catching up!!! Happy T day ! Hugs! deb

T stands for.....

 

...........New Project....  In the pic above i saw these paint chips at Lowe's and the shape of them reminded me of 'houses' but they were long so maybe apartment buildings?? And if i put them 'just so'... it looks like a little city... putting in all the little windows was fun...I tried to shade them.. if you look close i think you can tell.  Then i had a cut out moon from a magazine... and i used Gelatos to color the moon yellowy/orangey... is that a color.. ? I plan on putting it in an altered book... 

Aaannnd... One final picture of the honeycomb paint holders actually on the wall and in use.. I really love them... I can't wait for the bees that my daughter found for me to hang around them.. Love, love, LOVE! 

I hope everyone has had a spectacular week! I'll be around to visit the Tparty tomorrow! Lastly ... if you made it this far i just have to tell you.... I played in a Golf Tournament yesterday.. my second one... and 'I'!!!!! sunk the winning putt!!! Woot woot!!! Hubby will have to put up with me talking about it for weeks!!!lol I'm still walking on air!! Happy T day~Hugs! deb

Still............

 

     ..... crazy about bees! Believe it or not i found this sign at the entrance to my bank. You know i LOVED it.. :)  

Hubby has been working on a project for me!!! To help me store my craft paints.  

They will hang on the wall most of the time but can be taken off the wall and set on a table.. My daughter has found some ceramic bees at Target that i can put around them... Yes they are feeding my obsession... lol 

They have all been handed over to me to stain. There are 6 total... Do i have that much paint? Well.... almost.. there will be some empty holes to fill...lol  How nice it will be not to have to dig around for the color i want! 

                      Just a few more to go! 

Starbucks offered me a half price cold drink and i couldn't say no.. This is a Pineapple/Passion fruit frozen lemonade for Elizabeth's T Party... and it was Yum! First cold drink i've had from Starbucks. I always get my caramel macchiato coffee there on special occasions.. 

Still hot here and dry... cutting down some Sunflowers this week... they are just past there 'sell by date' and looking a little rough...They grew in a place i cannot easily water.  Hugs! deb

Celebrating Our 10th T Anniversary!

                      10th Anniversary Swap!!

 Nancy sent me not one ATC(Artist Trading Card) card but THREE! All lovely and with a Harry Potter theme.

Here are some close ups.... She put them all in a lovely clear plastic holder that she attached ribbons and a tiny Harry Potter book. 

             Each one had its own lovely quote.

           I love owls so this was a real winner.

           Nancy sketched and colored these all 

           herself! Thank you so much Nancy. 

We must not forget the tea! I'm not much of a tea drinker (coffee girl here). But i do like Lipton Black Tea and i must say these smelled really good so i will give them a try... 

Nancy did not remember to put 'real' stamps on her envelope and i must say i did not remember to remind her either... But i've bought stamps recently at the Post Office so i can show you what i bought. They are endangered species. 

Here is Elizabeth's required #10 picture. I hope this will suffice. Its all i could think of...lol! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone came up with.   Happy 10th Anniversary everyone!!! 

      Kathy also sent me a lovely PC and some tea!

                          Thank you Kathy! 

My ticket to the T party! Hubby and i went to our favorite Mexican restaurant called Henry's! Sorry i only remembered to take a pic at the end of the meal. We had leftovers for later! See my tea on the side there.  I also took some pics around the restaurant i'll show another time. 

And last but not least i thought i'd show you some progress on the current painting... Above is what i showed you last time.... 

And here is the current state with my reference drawing hanging above... Happy happy T day everyone and Happy Anniversary! Special wishes to our host and hostess Elizabeth and Bleubeard! I sure do appreciate all that you do. Hugs! deb