New Items added to Etsy shop

I have two new items that I've added to my etsy shop. Voo Doo Doll Pincushions!  These are not only cute, they are functional, and if you need to get some aggression out- they can help with that too!

The red one has a tail, and the black one has some COOL hair- UP-cycled from one of my Redken metro color hair swatch books (in every hairdresser's arsenal)

Cheap gift for the crafty person in your life! Happy Holidays!

Make the Most of your Meals~ Eat "Green"

Hello fellow foodies, mothers, and crafty people alike!

As any mother knows, we have a hard job. Its takes a lot of time and effort to keep everyone at the table during meals, and keeping it interesting. So, when I find certain shortcuts, I take them, in order to have more time with my family, and doing the things I want to. I found yesterday's meals to be very rewarding- and leftovers never tasted so good! You may think these are just regular ole falafel balls, but they are not! These are Lentil Croquettes. I made lentils for lunch, and for dinner, I made these Lentil Croquettes with home made tsatsiki sauce! All you need to do is take your left over lentils, and put them in a food processor, add bread, and an egg, and process until smooth. Put the mixture in the fridge. When ready to cook them, form into balls, and put into a hot pan with a tiny bit of oil, and fry them on each side, until you have a nice crust- you may choose to deep fry them, but I don't like to deep fry anything, so I just pan fried.  You use up your leftovers, and preparation was easy peasy, and you just made two meals from one! Now, that  is one GREEN meal! Enjoy!

 Always much love from my family to yours
Linda

New Item in Etsy Shop to help you with your crafty needs!

I've found the most amazing transfer paper.  It can be used for almost any craft project you want! It can be used on wood, glass, metal, fabric(all colors), even paper! This stuff is not made of carbon, so there is no need to worry about marks left behind where you didn't want them! This is non-smudging, AND machine washable! So if you make a mistake- NO BIGGIE- it comes right out! Its also made in the USA. Keepin it local is important.

It also comes in FOUR different colors! WHITE GREY RED YELLOW

I've fallen in love with the White transfer paper, because it really works well, and I haven't had much luck with other white transfer paper I've purchased, it seems faint, and easily comes off when I start stitching, but that is not a problem with this stuff. I just use my tracing sylus tool from Sublime Stitching, and trace with the paper under the design but on top of the fabric. I've yet to get any marks on my fingers from the paper, or extra marks on my projects. This really is SMUDGE PROOF!

I'm not trying to make any money, I'm just sharing the love- sold for the same price it was purchased. Now that is something you can appreciate.

Take a look at the examples I've shown in my shop!

I hope I've made your holiday gift making a little easier and CHEAPER!
It sure helps with the economy the way it is right now.

Happy crafting ALL!

Always much love

Linda

Aloha! ~Get Tiki Freaky Now!

Aloha Fellow crafty people!

I am super excited to announce that this month of November is the month my brother Ronnie Whitted is the guest artist for Urban Threads. I nominated him early this year to be a guest artist, so I was very excited to hear that he was contacted and they worked him in for the month of November- my bday month! YEA! How old will I be? meh- almost halfway to 40 so I'm not sure why I get excited! HA! Nonetheless, it was still a nice feeling when you get to show off an amazing artist that is your best friend and your brother, AND is a part of something you love- EMBROIDERY- and -CRAFTING! Its special. I can't tell you how big a part my brother has had in my crafting life- I've got to use his designs from his tattoo flash, and he has done many an awesome painting for me, plus, he can also airbrush! He is a well rounded artist and doesn't pigeon hole himself in one area. His time in college was spent in graphic arts and web design, where he has expanded his artistic abilities! He is in Hawaii right now, snorkeling with the sea turtles. So a Tiki Torch  fits in with his esthetic right now, and I'll be channeling him lots of love tonight while he is at a luau. Some friends we have known for a while, have moved to Maui, and have opened an awesome tattoo shop called Maui Atomic Tattoo. They also were the owners of other shops Ronnie has worked at- one in Austin, Texas called Forbidden Fruit, and one in Santa Cruz, California, called Staircase Tattoo. I have one tattoo by Rob on my foot that I got almost 10 years ago, and is still one of my fav's. I've adored Yvette's work since then, but I have to get her to do a piece on me! I'm thinking a Hawaiian vacation is in order! YEA!  I'm thinking a DOTD mermaid- hawaiian style! Go check out their stuff- they are nothing less than amazing people and amazing artist's, and if you are ever in Maui, you know who to go to. They have been tattooing for well over 20 years, and are leaders in their craft.

Mahalo~ and Happy Crafting ALL
Linda

I VANT TO DRINK YOUR BLOOD Orange Soda...hahaha

Hello there! I am really enjoying the cooler weather, and I hope you are too! Its so much fun to get out all your jackets and winter clothes, do a bit of re-organizing and cleaning- well, maybe that's just me, but I really enjoy organizing my closets! What I enjoy more than that though is harvesting the fruits of my labour,  and seasonal eating! I get bored easily of the same mundane meals, foods. We like to change it up a bit around here, and are always experimenting with new ideas. This year, we have a few more different types of citrus than we did last year, so therefore more food options and ideas!
We harvested enough blood oranges to be able to juice them, and cook them down with equal parts water and sweetener, which in our case was Agave Nectar, but you can use sugar, or whatever your taste buds fancy. Basically we made a Simple Syrup, except for we added the blood orange juice for part of the water. We cooked it down into something that looks like this

Then after you let it cool, you grab some sparkling water- or club soda- something bubbly and clear! Fill a tall glass with your club soda and then you add a few teaspoons until it has the taste you desire. If you like it a bit sweeter, you can use Sprite, or plain sugar in your simple syrup recipe. Now you have an easy drink that you can make on your own time. But WAIT, there is so much more you can do! This simple syrup can be used to make many other things, so get in gear and titillate you tongue with some fun, easy and new treats. How about some blood orange pops or blood sorbet for your halloween guests? It will surely be a crowd pleaser!

This recipe can be followed in the same way with other fruit or citrus as well. I've got tons of citrus ready to be harvested, and have been eating a lot, but there is STILL way too much for the 3 of us. So, I'll be making some fresh lemonade in this same manner, and also some lemon sorbet. I don't think I like anything better than lemon sorbet. Its my favorite thing to get when I'm at fairs or carnivals, or zoo's, or what ever event they might be selling them at!  I'm making mine today with some fresh organic home grown Meyer Lemons. They are definitely the BEST lemons on the planet I've ever tried.

Seasonal eating focus' on eating foods that are plentiful, local, and fresh. There fore you are being green even in your diet! Better yet- grow your own, it will be the most satisfying foods you'll eat!

I'll close with a beautiful picture of last nights harvest of citrus. I don't tend to harvest everything, and only the tree ripened best, about twice a week until they are gone!  Enjoy! 

I've got Kishu Seedless Mandarin's, Meyer Lemons, Owari Satsuma Oranges, Pink Cara Cara Oranges, and "Pink Lemonade" Eureka variegated Lemons. Picture above of Blood Oranges and blood orange simple syrup.

What do you like to do with lemons? Do you have any blood orange recipes you'd like to share for the holiday's?

Thank you so much for reading my blog.

Much Love to you and your families from mine.

Linda

Love your Hair? Hate your hair? ECO HAIR!

No matter what your likes and dislikes are about your hair, we can all grow it back, well, some of us anyway. This month is breast cancer awareness month, and I thought I'd do something I've never done myself, but have done it for  my clients in my salon- DONATE your hair to little girls who can't grow their hair back because of chemo treatments due to cancer. Yes, its not for breast cancer, but its for cancer in general, and still a great cause.

Locks of Love is well known, and  they take women's donated 10 inches of hair, and they turn it into a  cute wig for little girls (and boys I'm sure). I've cut dozens of women's hair for this cause, but I myself have not done it, due to the fact that I usually had short hair. I've grown out my hair and have had long hair for the past 5 years. So now I finally get the chance to let my locks live on and be an important part of a little girls life.

My hair was only 10 inches from the base of my neckline, so in order to qualify, I had to cut it pretty short, but hey, I've lived with short hair for the better part of all my twenties! No problem! I'm liking it, and it took me a while to complete, because its hard to cut a detailed hair cut like this one by yourself.
I'm enjoying all the different stuff I can do with it for sure. Though a little part of me is sad I don't have all my curls, because I've always had straight hair, but after having Mason, my hair went curly, or wavy, which ever your prefer, but like I said- it will grow back!

I also realized that short hair is GREEN! How so- its a no brainer- less shampoo, less water, less products, less effect of chemicals being distributed into our environment. GO GREEN- CUT YOUR HAIR! HA! Or not, its all up to you!

Remember breast cancer awareness month, and support all you can.

 Donate your hair for a good cause - or you can buy some pink stuff!  I bought myself a few of my favorite hair cutting combs by cricket, and they are a SUPER cute pink color.

Ready- here I am!

I hope everyone is staying warm and has a beautiful fall day!

Always much love to you and your families, from mine.

Inspirational Reads

Hello there fellow crafters, gardeners, and creative people alike~
I hope everyone's weekend was beautiful and cool, like it was here this past weekend, or actually the past few weeks!

Its been a great September so far. I've finished a few secret projects, and I've finished with my friends baby shower this past Sat. This is the diaper cake I made for it~ a little different than most, but it made for a good guess how many diapers made this cake game. I like the way it looks like flow-y fondant.


Not the best picture, as all my fans with lights only have 60 watt bulbs which is the highest it will take, and it was 2 in the morning, so the lighting was horrible, and I was tired and wanted to go to bed. I also forgot to take a picture of all the onesies and bibs I made for her, but maybe I can get a picture later of them.
Its been raining here a lot lately. Usually my husband can't work if its too wet, or if its raining on him, so I've had the pleasure to spend lots of quality time with my whole family. Its been SO nice! I am very blessed and don't take a single day for granted-  USUALLY! I've been wanting to try new ventures, and projects, new CRAFTS! I've done bath bombs and lip balms a lot, and I love making beauty aids, and while I was teaching at the Paul Mitchell Academy in Austin, I taught a whole class on making natural beauty products, it was a blast.  I have quite a few books on this. Mostly herb and beauty books, but while looking at the used books at my local bookstore, I found this. Its the best book! There are tons of different ways to make different types of glue- for different types of projects. There are tons of different beauty aids in there, that I haven't tried yet. There are awesome things like how to make play dough and silly putty, and tons of different types of clay.  How to make home made finger paint, body paint, bubble paint,  tons of different paints for different projects. Egg white paint and mural paint for doing large scenery for plays or what not. There are projects that will make your head spin and want to craft up some projects like there ain't no tomorrow! This book will keep me and Mason busy for years!

 I also bought this magazine- though you should call it a book because it has TONS of the BEST I mean absolute best Halloween projects- and believe me, they have everything listed in here for a great party or just a fun day with your family.  Super FUN Food, easy costumes,  party ideas,  and about everything imaginable.  I gasped at each page turn. My husband was just as impressed with the magazine as I was, and thats really saying something! YEARS of halloween projects, parties, costumes, and recipes are in here, not including what ever you get inspired to do yourself! I'd have to say that I am very pleased at both of these books, and didn't put either of them down until I finished reading both, not that they are hard reads or anything, lol. So, if you are finding yourself in a rut like me, wanting to venture outside your box- or for me my circle, pick up these rather inexpensive crafty notions books- they will get your gears turning!

I hope everyone is well and happy and having a beautiful day!

Always much love

Happy crafting
Linda

Manly gifts??? AND Pear Dumplings

My husbands birthday is tomorrow, and I really want to make him something, but I've been having trouble thinking of anything besides FOOD that he will get use out of that I can make him! I've already made him an apron, and he's wore it a few times.

He's a manly man. Rough and rugged, and not usually the type to sport any embroidered items. I've been wanting to knit him a beanie, because we are going to the mountains in a few months. The only problem is that I can't knit in a round, I can only knit and purl, and can makes square hats, or scarves, or purses, bags, and blankets. Does anyone have any good online source for learning to knit in a round  quickly. I pick things up quickly, but am a visual learner, and have to see it done, so books and reading about how to do it, aren't for me.

Any resources would be GREATLY appreciated!

I would like to share what I did make him for his bday!

Pear Dumplings with Pecan Cream Cheese Crust

I really just made up this recipe.
Here is what I did:
I found a crust recipe for  using cream cheese, flour and butter. I had a few home grown pears, and a TON of pecans out of my back yard(even though its the neighbors pecan tree- its huge and hangs over our fence). So, I ground up a bunch of pecan's into almost flour, but left a little bit of some chunks in there, and added it to the dough. Then after peeling my home grown pears and a few Bartlett Pears bought at the market, I cut them in half lengthwise, and I used a melon baller to scoop out the core. I had already made up a mixture of butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar(brown and white), and scooped in the mixture to the empty pear core. Some of them, I added a few more chopped pecans.  During the dough roll out and cut process, I shaped flat 1/8 inch think circles around to keep the pear shape. Then I used the left over dough to make cut out leaves, and a nice pecan sandie roll. Nothing went to waste. The pecan sandie roll, is mearly the leftover dough rolled out flat, adding the leftover sugar mixture and chopped pecans across  the entire surface, and rolling it up and pinching the ends together. It comes out tasting like the best pecan sandie you've ever had in your life! Oh yea, then you bake the pears in a deep dish at 350 degrees F. for 35 minutes.

I was going to  make a cream sauce, but they didn't need it.  I did do a raspberry glaze, made with some fresh raspberries, and agave nectar.  But we didn't use much of this. It was amazing!

I should have taken pics, they were cute- but already gone!

Thanks for any feed back and let me know if anyone would like a further details about my pear dumplings- I'd be happy to share my recipe!

Have a beautiful day!

Happy crafting!
xoLinda

Time To Blog

     I have less and less time as the days go by. Maybe lately its the swaps I've signed up for,  on craftster and personal. I'm not a consistent blogger, and I've already deleted my twitter account- after only a few days- SHEESH! I guess since I'm not selling stuff at the moment, its rather useless to me, and really, who cares if I got a new phone. I'd rather take the amount of time I do spend on the computer showing off the beautiful things I (think) I make, and telling about my beautiful son and our life we're creating.

For example, my family is in a band called The Mason's, and we jam, let me tell you.  My son, and husband, and myself all do vocals, and  I play my piano, and my son has his own Jr. Piano that he plays. It sounds just like the piano used in Clap Your Hands Say Yeah first cd which is the self titled album.  We also have a variety of drums ranging from sounds like Indian drumming, marching band drums, and bongos! We all use the harmonica's, xylophone, bamboo marimba, recorders, maracas, guitar, and drums. He just turned 19 months old a few days ago, and he can already use individual fingers while playing piano, and he can keep a beat up on the drum, and boy can he hit a drum. He can't say all of the items he plays, but he can say some, but he knows what they all are, because all you have to say is "Mason lets play your piano" or whatever instrument, and he will go and get the correct items.   This is my favorite time of the day, because we all have a good time!

I am super excited about my swaps, since this will be my first time swapping off craftster in YEARS, plus I get some awesome friends from all over doing embroidery works of their own on a towel for me! I've got a few secret projects I am working on as well, and I can't wait to show them off! 

I also wanted to spend a little time during my blog post, to tell about a seamstress I found out of L.A, CA. She has a shop on Etsy, called Like My Dress, and another one called Snappy Shop. She has the cutest appliqued items, and I bought the most unique dress, and it was custom made- just sent in my measurements, and I received my dress less than a week later.  It fits like a glove, and is EXTREMELY well made. I already have 2  more dresses I want her to make me with the same pattern, but different fabric. I've got a  light pink wood grain dress with a super cute owl applique pocket soon to be coming. I adore her work, and she was so friendly, and very quick. She also lives in LA, where all the fires were at the time of purchase, but she didn't skip a beat. I even expected to get it later than sooner because of it. i was very impressed. So if you are wanting to spiff up your wardrobe with some cute original items, head over that way, you WON'T be disappointed.

Well, this week, I'm a hostess for a friends baby shower, so I've got some baby items embroidered up, which I'll show off after the shower. I'm also making a diaper cake, some cupcakes with cupcake toppers, and some door prizes for bringing a pack of diapers, like lip balms and bath bombs, and bath salts in baby bottles. I might make a baby bunting if I have time. I love making  stuff for my friends.

I also have been loving me some Urban Threads. They come out with the BEST Tutorials, and they have me wanting to craft SO much more with their weekly updates, and I appreciate them taking the time to put up a free tute for all to use, and they have offered free designs for people, ever since I can remember visiting their website! Isn't that nice!?  

I also wanted to say that I signed up my fantastically talented brother as a guest artist for Urban Threads like 6 months ago, and now they've got him for November! He let me see a sneak peak of it- its amazing- but I expected nothing less!

Crafts are things that people make out of LOVE, and everyone I've met in the crafting world would tell you the same thing.

 Lets keep that ball going

 Make Crafts Not War

I hope everyone has a beautiful day and thank you for reading my little blog!

Happy Crafting!

xo Linda

The Good The Bad The Ugly

Friday's are my days to go pick up our CSA farm share of veggies from River Bend Nature Center, which is about a mile and a half away from my house. I normally don't have time to get the bike out, and just put Mason in the car and go get them, but this past Friday, Phillip was off work in time for me to just ride my bike there, and since its got a basket on it, I can just put the veggies in there. I love to ride my bike, and ride about 4-6 miles a day, but I'm also pulling Mason's bike trailer with him in it, most of the time. I also connect my dog, Bear Bear, who's a Malamute, to the trailer, so he's running along side us- even pulling us in the beginning. He thinks its a dog sled :-D

Well, with Mason and the trailer put together, I'm pulling almost 100 pounds behind me, but on Friday, I disconnected the trailer, and went solo to get the veggies- mostly because the bike ride there, is ALL uphill- and very steep. Well, I got there with no problems, a bit tired from all the uphill action, but felt great none the less. After talking with Pam a little while, and her new interns she brought to meet everyone, they helped me load my share in my basket, and I was on my way. Its always a nice day on Friday, especially when you get to talk with such wonderful people who are interested in the same lifestyle you are. I guess I was feeling pretty good, and headed off to the house, but of coarse, my trip home was all DOWN hill, and thus I was FLYING! After almost loosing a zucchini out of the basket, I put on the breaks to slow down. The hill I was on, was a good 45 degree angle or more, and there was gravel at the end of it- so I bit the dust! Lost all my veggies out of the basket, and had to gather them back up- only one was broken(thank goodness). I guess I wasn't used to having any weight to pull, and thus flying out of control, was inevitable. I was also standing up- picture me feeling the wind through my hair and across my face. I wasn't paying enough attention, and having too good of a time. I thought I was in the Tour De France- LOL J/K

It didn't feel too bad at the time, and I really didn't look down and my knee, I just grabbed my veggies that lay scattered all over the road, and got back on the bike, and went home.

When my husband saw my knee through the garage door, he was screaming OMG ARE YOU ALRIGHT, before I was even in the garage. When I got off the bike, and looked down, it was worse looking than I expected. Still wasn't painful though- UNTIL THE NEXT DAY!

I was pampered this weekend by my husband because of it- though, it hurt, it didn't slow me down. I got a manicure and pedicure with body massage, and was treated to what ever I wanted....aww isn't he sweet!

All I really wanted was some embroidery floss. I needed one color to finish my lovebirds tote. So, we went into Hobby Lobby to get some floss. I ended up getting a few more skeins than I planned on- I guess since I've been working with the glow in the dark thread and the metallic thread, I was interested in checking out what different floss' I haven't worked with yet. I grabbed too many, and was thinking the whole time that I shouldn't be spending my money on this, but my husband said- just get what you want, so I did! I also needed a new small hoop, since months ago, I gave all my small ones to my BF Salina, and her little girl Maya, who have been practicing embroidery. After I got my new super cute pink small hoop, I was off to see the damage at the cash register.

When I got there, I had to wait in line forever- but I'm a patient person, so I was a good girl. Others around me- not so much. It's not the cashiers fault that this lady needed so much frumpy stuff . When it was my turn, I was holding my breathe- I got a handful of skeins that were like 2-3$ a piece! When the lady told me my total- I was in shock- and she winked at me, and I said I love you- and blew her a kiss- just like the way Mason does- paid her the 3$ she said and went on my way! When I got home, I added up the total of what it would have been- 45$ just for the floss, so I got @50$ worth of stuff for 3.41$ AWESOME!

I started a new dino for my neice- shes almost 14 and in love with anything dinosaur. This super cute design is from Urban Threads and can be found here.

I'm using satin fluorescent floss, and satin red floss. I'm not done yet, but I lOVE the shiny look of the floss- I may never go back!

So, just a sweet note- when something bad happens- (even though falling off my bike and getting road rash on my knee isn't bad persay) something good is waiting ahead for you! I also wouldn't have gone to the store that day, if my husband didn't take me there to get me something special. So, YEA FOR ROAD RASH!

XX

Linda

Kseniya Simonova's sand animation- Spectacular~Amazing~Inspiring

Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who just won Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent." She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret Germany's invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII.

Like nothing I've ever seen, this woman is beautiful, in every way. You can FEEL everything ~get a tissue ;-)

Hand Made Jean Tote WIP

Does it look finished? Well, its not. There's a LOT more LOVE going into this bag.
So far, I've got a super cute design from Sublime Stitching's Craft Pad, I call them the love birds, and embroidered with all blue and green shades of thread, including some blue metallic thread from SS as well. I first ironed on the design onto some stabilizer, that I already ironed onto the fabric bag. This method was brought to my attention by Sublime Stitching where you can buy stabilizer. I made the Jean tote out of some old jean material I've had for ages. I haven't added my lining yet, because I want to finish up the corner's embroidery before I add a lining. The jean tote was made with a simple "jordy" type square bottom method.


I can't wait to show off my finished jean tote. Soon! Hope you enjoyed the preview. I was totally inspired to make a new SS tote with a darker background, so that my Flower Girl Eco Tote doesn't get ruined with stains on the bottom of its light beige color, because I love it so much!
ps-Tips for those stitchers who are inspired to stitch onto dark fabric using the SS way I've used here, I would use tweezers for any small areas to pull off the stabilizer, so that you are gentle on your stitches. I had a few issues, even with using the tweezers, but there are so many small areas in this design, other designs may not give you as much of a problem. Hope this helps!

Have a beautiful day!
Linda

Meet the Farm and Farmer Day!

I wish I was introducing OUR farm, but its still very young, and all in the works, but what I'm sharing with you today is a farm we are CSA members of. If you aren't familiar with CSA farms, it means Community Supported Agriculture. You buy shares in the farm and receive the local farms produce when its harvested. The pro's are that its local, and you support your local farmers, and you are eating seasonally, which is very healthy, its organic, and you always get different stuff. The con's are that if something were to happen to the farm, i.e. a flood, or tornado, and the crops are wiped out, you may not get your share that season, even though you paid for it, that way the farm and farmer get to continue with out fear of losing their crops and money.

I've really enjoyed the farm we get our shares from. They are @30 miles away, and they invited all their members out a few weekends ago to meet the farm, and see where the food is coming from.

It was a fun day for our family. My husband and son Mason, my stepson, and myself all went out, and brought a dish for the lunch we were having. We were all supposed to bring a dish made with some of the produce we get from the farm- preferably a raw dish, we brought an asian cabbage salad, which is to die for, and all raw, and OH SO GOOD! If you are interested in the recipe, you can find it on their website at Rose Creek Farms. I submitted it, but not sure when it will show.

After we ate, we got to see some of the farm areas. Mason really enjoyed seeing the different animals, and we all enjoyed seeing the different sects of the farm, and what they do.

They make their own charcoal, which I thought was very cool.

They had some pigs, and some piglets born on July 4th, one of which looked like a dalmation, and had black spots.

All in all we had a great time, even though it felt like we were in the pits of hell with a steaming 106 degree's F that day! It was nice spending more time with Ronny and Pam, other than our meet and greet when we pick up our food at the drop off location every Friday.

I encourage all to join in CSA farms that are near them. It really helps your local economy, and you get in touch with your food, which is very important to me, and my family.

I can't believe its been almost a month since my last blog post, but it doesn't surprise me, its been one crazy summer, busy busy busy, and I wish I could stay out of the heat, but you should see my killer tan! LOL!

I do have a few finished projects done with another mosaic, and embroidery stuff, but there's not enough time in my day. Its already past midnight, and I'm bonkers....need to pass out....

I am hoping I have some time to share them soon! Maybe this weekend....cross fingers...

Thanks for sharing my families Farm day with us!

Wishing everyone a beautiful summer

From my family to yours

Sneak-A-Peak-A-Boo

So, after consideration, I thought I'd give you guys a sneak peak of the back yard creation after all. I actually have been sick the past weekend, so not much else has been done, but will be done HOPEFULLY this weekend.


We are putting in grass on this side of the fence for Mason, the fence is put up because the dogs tear up any kinds of grass. They are out when we are out, which is ALL the time, but I need to control it otherwise I won't get to have grass for Mason. I've been crafting little things for Mason's pirate fort, but nothings finished yet. The recycled tire mulch will be put down on top of this sand, and play sand will be put in the small area for Mason.

As far as the side of the house, this is what has been done...




Since I don't have the front finished, I thought I would at least put out some of my cacti pots on the front porch area, to have something pretty to look at.



And the back porch for good measure



Since the cicada's are popping up all the time, I thought I'd try and catch them in their hatching stage, just because I've never seen them do it, but now I have!



Yes, I let my cat(Baby Boo) have the cicada...he's a hunter, and he loves bugs, loves to hunt them and eat them, so I let him have this one. There's millions more where that one came from!

Well, I guess that's about it! Hope you enjoyed it!

Always much love
Linda

Fun with Frogs, Friends, and Future Projects

Well, there! It seems like I haven't had time to blog in a while! Sorry, but the summer brings me outside most of the time, and so its hard to find time for the crafty things in my life, being outside. I'm all dirty, muddy, and wet most of the time, I don't take any embroidery or fabric related crafts outside, just in case.

So, what I've gotten done outside is a lot, but minimal on the grand scale of what we want to do. We've finished one side of the house. planting in berms and hills, and raised beds. Planted lots of herbs and flowers, blueberries and pomegranates, passion flower vines, and palm trees. We still haven't touched the front of the yard yet! I know people are wondering what the hell we are doing! LOL! In the back, we've built a gated fence across the back, to keep the dogs in their area, so we can grow some grass on the other part for Mason to run around on, and we've already put in 6-10 fruit trees, built them up in a raised bed and put more flowers and herbs in that bed. Its all coming along really nicely, but it doesn't ever seem like I'm going to finish!
We are also putting in some vintage patio stones I bought off our towns cheap cycle website. I got 55 stones for 20$, equaling @200sq.ft. of super awesome spade like shaped stones. Since having big dogs, and one huge tree in the back yard, its hard to keep any grass, which would be fine with us, but I wanted a little bit of grass for Mason to roll around on. I can't wait to show you guys the outcome of the stones!

After getting Mason a rock wall/slide play fort, I got a bunch of bags of recycled tire mulch. Its soft like rubber, and is used on playgrounds for kids. We've put in a sandbox area, and made his fort into a pirate ship(hanging his jolly rodger up) and a little pool and small garden area just for Mason. Its really coming along nicely, but of coarse I keep thinking of things I want to do for him, but no more room for my ideas in my backyard, well maybe some of my ideas!

Wanting some pictures? Well, no sneak peaks of his play stuff till its all finished, but I did take some snap shots of some of our frog friends that have made our back yard our home.


Well, I think that's it for the outside, I wished I had it ready to show off completely, but with this brain, and a never ending supply of ideas, I'm always working on it!

I have done a small table mosaic project, but still have to grout it in, and put the edge of tiles up around the edge of the table, but here is a sneak peek of it!




I have this huge To-Do pile in my craft room. It haunts me daily... it sits atop my beautiful blue tile I thrifted. Score of two boxes and some extras, for only 20$ maybe one day I'll get to use it! Lots of Japanese embroidery books, with pages tagged and ready to be put into use....
I also have lots of mags from my mom...
I'm going to use them in this really cool paper recycling kit I got Mason(for when he's older). You take your old paper, and make new paper! Its really easy, and looks like a lot of fun! You can also make seed paper. You put seeds in the paper, and after you finish, you plant the paper! How cool is that!


Well, I don't have a lot of embroidery projects to show off. I did finish a tea towel, and started adding some new fish to Mason's embroidered treasure map... a never ending project!

Thanks for checking out my stuff! I'm not sure when I'll get back. Maybe after our camping trip! YEA! YES I SAID IT! CAMPING TRIP! Can you tell I'm excited! The weekend after my bf's bday, 4th of july weekend, we're going camping. There will be at least 6 of us, maybe 7. So much fun, I can't wait! I got my portable hammock out ready and waiting! Till then!

Always much love
have a safe and beautiful holiday

Linda and Mason

CraftPad~Tastic!!!!

Hello Stitchy Strangers!

I haven't had much of a craft~tastic time lately, but I've managed a tea towel over the past week or so. I've spent a little time on other things, but not much, sorry to say.
This is a pattern from Sublime Stitching's Craft Pad. I had some issues with my craft pad, and had to return it and get another. I think it sat in a hot truck too long, so it wouldn't iron-on to the fabric. Thats my favorite part of the Sublime Stitching design set...it's easy and just iron's on instead of printing out, tracing, then ironing on. But, I got another, and so I've enjoyed stitching up a few of the larger designs. This one is in sweet colors, lots of pastels. I put a running stitch as a border around the whole towel. I used some old varigated floss I got from a freinds grandmother. It just changes colors from pink to green, to purple, blue, and yellow. I thought it went with the color scheme of the floss' I used in the pattern. Thanks for checking it out, and have a beautiful day!

Linda

Natures Woodland Style

I've recently purchased a new bed set for my son, covered in super cute woodland critters. It's not only made of 100% recycled/organic materials, but its also got the crafted look, to it, with embroidery, and such. So, I decided to add another "green" element to his boudoir.

I have a body pillow, that isn't used, and it was screaming at me, to be the newly covered Mason pillow, because it fits perfectly against the window, in case he tosses and turns and may hit the window seal, so the long body pillow fits the space! Yea for new homes for old things! I thought I'd make the critters out of felt, and attach them to felt, with some embroidery, including the leaves.

This is one rare occasion that I didn't have to go to the store to buy any craft supplies to make this! I had plenty of wood fabric's to use as the back, in different colors, and I also had plenty of felt! So, thank goodness!
As of right now, I am finished with the felt critters, and finishing up the leaves. I am still up in the air about how I am gong to attach the felt critters to the wood grain fabric. I'm thinking of sewing them on top, and then making the little pockets for hiding his goodies in....we'll see.

For now, I'm just showing off what I've done, which is all the embroidery onto the animals, and some of the leaves. Next time I'm going to have a finished body pillow cover to show you!

I hope you enjoy these. I've enjoyed making them, and can't wait for it all to be finished.
You can find the comparisons to the original critters on my flickr photos.

Always- much love
Linda

Spring and Summer bring to the woodlands
Such variety of vegetation strands
Species of plants both famous and obscure
Spreading their wild beauty to endure

From spore, seed, rhizome
From root, and bulb the plants come
Spread by wind, animals, multiplying
They give the woodland floor covering

Of shaded coloring from rainbow hints
From solid greens to varigated tints
From the all white Indian pipes and May apples
To a variety of hues of fungi samples

Of teaberries and Virginia creeper
On and on the list gets deeper
Of wild grape vines and spring beauty
Of mosses and lichens that are on duty

Ferns must not be missed
By shade and shadow kissed
All bid one to sit and stay awhile
Thinking of nature's woodland style


Woodland Perspective (c) 2001 Quentin Clingerman

Love Felt Around the World

Love~ its been a very loving week/weekend for me. With lots of love filled packages, I just can't find the words to show how I feel towards my fellow flickr peeps right now. 

I received a message from fellow stitcher Bookwormbethie last week, letting me know she had picked me up a FQ of some CUTE pirate fabric I had swooned over, that she had gotten. She wanted to send it to me, and I was overwhelmed with joy!

 I immediately wanted to send her something right back, because I LOVE being the same way, so I made up a special thank you package right back. 

She got it today, so I'm so happy she liked everything! Bethie is such a thoughtful lady, I adore the fact she thought of me in this way.

I also received another package, from another fellow flickr friend the_ Cleof. She lives in South Africa, and we've become good friends through emails and such. She wanted to make Mason some finger puppets to go on his Tree Wall Play Board, and I thought how wonderful it would be, and of coarse she made the animal finger puppets South African animals! 

I got my package today, and I was OVERWHELMED with joy to see all the goodies she sent me.

The bangles, key chain, and the little craft apron were made by a rural community development center in a place called Valley of a 1000 Hills~ they train rural women with skills in order to empower them financially. Its such a great local cause to support, and I'm ALL about supporting LOCALLY! So of coarse I DIED over it!

The bangles are traditional Zulu bangles that women wear for special occasions like weddings. This is the website to find out what the different patterns and colors mean. 

I can't wait to go check it out when I'm done!

She also included 5 South African animal finger puppets, which are FABULOUS and so much better than the ones I got from etsy. A zebra, monkey, lion, elephant, and giraffe! They are made beautifully, with so much love, I can feel the love permeate through them! Mason loves them, and since the Zoo outing, he knows what they are, and gets so excited!

She also sent me 2 cute pencils, one is a zebra, and one is a springbok, which is the national symbol. These will never be used. 

Saving the best for last, I , or I mean Mason received the cutest crafty original painting by her son Miguel. This is a one- of a kind, and priceless. We love it, and it goes nicely in with his other art. Its a little water blob straw painting! Thanks Miguel! Mason loves it! 

but he trys to take off the eyes! 

So needless to say, I'm spilling out the thank you's and I love you's and all the gushy stuff you feel when someone whole-heartedly goes out of their way to do something nice for you. I do these things all the time for my friends, and its so nice when karma pays you back. I'm excited to say I'm doing a swap with Cleo, and I can't wait to pimp her's OUT! I am going to make this one special package, because she is one special lady- thanks cleo, much love honey. Thanks Bethie, you rawk. You guys made this little lady feel so fantastic, and so I'm floating, cause I was already feeling good!

Always much love

Linda

Earth Day Should be EVERYDAY!

It is in our lives! Though its nice to have at least one day we can all get together and do something that is good for everyone and everything! There's lots you can do on Earth Day, and not all of it involves digging in the dirt.

We've spent our last 5 days slaving in our back yard. Putting in a patio, picnic table, torches, planting lots of fruit trees, and herbs. We finished one side of our house, and it looks great. We always plant stuff, though, so its not something we DID for Earth Day, because we do this about EVERYDAY! If everyone put in a garden instead of a lawn, then we would end our food crisis, and save lots on gas for shipping- but I'm sure you already know that, so why doesn't everyone do this!? Well, for one they aren't educated, and it takes time and money, some of which are hard to come by.  I do have a plan for solving some of these issues, but I'll save that for another post. 

I want to spend time educating those who may overlook certain things in their lives that can help ALL- RECYCLING! Yes, I know I know everyone does it, or should do it, people don't think they need to know anything else huh? Well, I'm going to spend time letting others know what ELSE they can do to recycle that they may not know.......

Some cities may not come with a city wide recycling program so people may not do it! Well, I'd like you to know it shouldn't matter whether or not the city does it- YOU SHOULD!

 Our city only does a green recycle bin for compost items, but some may not know that things from old clothes, leftover veggie scraps, grass clippings, and even dog/cat poop- also your cat littler if its pine!  All of your boxes, and all types of paper can be put into these bins. 

Since moving from Austin, I've been having to do a bit more to recycle my items, but its so much more rewarding when I have to take my different loads of glass, plastic bottles, and cans to different places, but its worth it! I have 4 different trash cans, and I evaluate every bit of trash to determine where it should go. I'd like to brag that my REAL trash only gets taken out every few weeks, because about 80% or more is recyclable!

If you eat out, make sure you get paper to go, or plastic, they can both get recycled, and I know a lot of people like Sonic, but until they switch to paper, I'm not going there! I bet with a little persuasion they would change.

Ever think about cat littler? I have two cats, and so I buy cat litter. I switched cat litters when I found out all the damage caused by mining the clay that's in cat littler, then, when in the landfills, it makes it to where water can't permeate through the ground, because it absorbs it. We all know what clay is like! SO- what do you buy? Buy Feline Pine- its AWESOME! It is little pine pellets, they expand when peed upon, and pine is a natural deodorizer. It has no cat pee smell, and lasts WAY longer. Also, you can compost EVERY BIT! That makes me feel great. I know there's different stuff out there, but I want to let you know I've tried them all. The crystals are expensive, and pine dust gets tracked all over, and pine pellets won't track, or smell, and best of all, its 3$ for a HUGE bag- now, you better feel good about that. You save money and help the environment by switching to Feline Pine Pellets. 1 Bag lasts me about 3-4 weeks for 2 cats! What a deal!

I've even educated others in the city and got them to start separating trash from recyclables.

Here, the Wal-mart now takes recyclables like plastic, and cans. We have lots of fire stations that have bins for newspaper, and glass. So whats left? Nothing! You can throw away diapers, but hey, if  you deny styrofoam, then you can recycle everything else, just make sure you clean things well!

As far as cleaning products are concerned...... I have only a few things I buy, eco- friendly dish detergent, my HE washing machine soap(because I have to- but you use less of it) and BAKING SODA! EVERYTHING can be cleaned with it, and its great! You can use it for LOTS of stuff, and so I won't go into that list, but just go buy a big box(located on the cleaning isle, not baking isle) and feel good about cleaning! Use it for a facial, or a bath soak, your teeth- just USE IT! IT WORKS!

I hope this helps even one person, and then I did something here. I plan on having a recycle list for places to go in my city, when I sell my items at the Farmers Market, so I can help others here, as well!

Thanks for helping all you can, and let's make Earth Day EVERY DAY!

Love your mother- Nature

Linda

Craft Talk

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time! Enjoy!