Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Were has the Year gone?

Hello,
are you asking yourself the same question?
It sure went by fast!
Looking back, I have to say it's been a good one.
No major disasters, just a few bumps in the road,
like the Easter Bunny bringing us
a new furnace instead of chocolate eggs
and our riding mower giving out around the same time.
And me not always sticking to my new years resolutions,
like writing a blog post every 2 weeks,
sorry everyone, I had good intentions!!!
Well, what you gona do, life went on
and we worked through all our ups and downs
and made it to the end of the year just fine.

It's always been a good year when we could find
some time in our busy schedule to do
some traveling.
Nothing big this past year,
a trip to Kentucky Lake and 
a trip home to Louisiana for some well deserved R&R.
Visiting family and friends, eating the best seafood in the world,
fishing and did I mention some very good eating.

A plantation visit is a must when visiting Louisiana.
 Beautiful San Francisco Plantation in 
St. John the Baptist Parish.
 A little side trip down to Grand Isle.
 A magnificent place for bird watching...
 ... and fishing.
 And no visit home is complete without a stop
in New Orleans.
 I absolutely love this city.
So rich in history, color, flair,
it just takes your breath away and 
you fall in love.

And if you in the city I highly recommend a... 
 ... Jazz Cruise on the Natchez.
We did the daytime lunch cruise.
The food was fantastic, the Jazz was great
 and the sights breathtaking.
My Beautiful Crescent.

Yes, looking back it was a great year and 
I can't wait to go back to Louisiana very soon.
And I think that is the only new years resolution I'm going to make
because it is the only one I'm going to keep!!!
With this I'm closing this last blog post of 2014,
wishing you and yours 
a safe and prosperous 
New Year!
See you all in the new year!

Diana




Sunday, December 21, 2014

The Joys of the Season!

Hello everyone
and 
Happy first Day of Winter!
Yes, I know,
for some of us it felt like winter for quiet a while.
But on the up side, now it is official,
just hoping it will be a better one then last year.
Not sure I can make it through another "Arctic vortex".
No fun driving to work on icy roads,
that is if your car even wants to start 
because of subzero temperatures:(

The first day of winter also means you only have
"3 Shopping Days Left" to Christmas!
Crunch time!
So glad I took a few days off to finish up 
my shopping, cleaning, baking, wrapping and
maybe, just maybe get some R&R in.

My Christmas Cards were mailed a while back
and all arrived at their destinations.
So with no further delay,
proudly presenting our 
2014
"Joy of the Season"
Christmas card. 
I decided to keep it simple this year.
Just a little splash of color. 
 Stamp is "Joy Collage" from Hampton Art.
 One of my handmade crocheted flowers.
Pine branch is a die cut. 
 I hope this card brought as much joy 
to the recipients as for me making them.

Our smallest friends received...
 ... a Gingerbread House treat bag 
filled with lots of Christmas goodies this year.
Gingerbread House die is from Sizzix.
I have to admit I love getting Cards
as much as I love making them
and it does not matter they are handmade or store bought,
receiving a card means something special to me.
For years I kept the tradition of displaying them in our 
hallway, carefully hung with clothespins, 
for everyone to admire.

Thank you so much for taking time
and stopping in!
I would like to wish you and your families
all the Joys of the Season
and
a very Merry Christmas!

Diana 




Sunday, November 30, 2014

So many projects...

... so little time!!!
Hello,
hope you and your family had a great
Thanksgiving and a wonderful start to
the Holiday Season!
I sure enjoyed every minute of this
long 4 day Thanksgiving weekend.
spending time with family and friends, a little shopping
and yes, lots of catching up on craftsy stuff.
As you will see I got quiet a bit accomplished.

I would like to start with the card I made for my
God-mothers upcoming December Birthday.
 Stamp from Hampton Art.
 One of my crocheted flowers.
 
 This card was super easy and fast to make.
Hope she will like it.

Finally finished the baby blanket for my
sons girlfriends brand new niece.
I found the free pattern at Modern Grace Design.
The pattern is very easy to follow,
I also adapted the size to make it a bit larger.

 And I even had time to make a little something for myself.
 My brand new boteh scarf.
Here is the link to Ravelry,
sorry, the pattern is not for free!!!
A little hint,
 I requested the book
The Best of Interweave Crochet: A Collection of Our Favorite Designs
by Marcy Smith
through my local Public Library
and got the pattern for FREE.
 Yarn is Red Heart, Boutique, Unforgettable
comes in multiple color combinations.
One thing I learned with this yarn is it is not easy to
crochet and not very forgiving (very hard to unravel) when you make a mistake.
But I love the color!!!

And last but not least some Christmas creations.
 Our local Library offered a program
on how to make your own
tomato cage Christmas tree.
Well what do you think,
not to bad for my first.
Didn't get it quiet finished that night,
added the decorations and some more mesh
for a fuller look at home.
Mesh and decorations are from WalMart.
 Christmas card production is in full swing,
cards are done...
... envelopes stamped.
Stamp "Evergreen Holiday" from
Inkadinkado.
Ready to get them mailed.
I will post the Christmas card when they 
safely arrived at their destinations.

Really hate this long weekend is coming to an end,
still have a few unfinished projects I would like to get finished.
So much to do, so little time!!!
Hope you enjoyed looking around,
thanks for taking time and stopping by!
Have a wonderful week!

Diana

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Oh La La!

Hello everyone
and Happy Sunday to you all!
Sorry, my posts been very
very infrequent lately
and I really don't have a very good excuse
 besides time is just getting away from me!

Today I would like to share a 
little Birthday card with you.
I call it "Oh LaLa",
maybe because of the colors,
with the weather gray, cold
and gloomy I needed to 
create something
bright and cheery.

 Love the cute Poodle.



 This is the Stampin'Up! stamp set I used,
not sure what it is called,
I bought it used a long time ago.

A little sneak peek at my 
Christmas card production...
... 50 red crocheted flowers...
... 1 weekend...
... done!!!
My fingers are a little sore
but it was well worth it.
Stay tuned for more peeks!

Thanks for stopping in.
I hope you all have a great week!

Diana



Saturday, October 25, 2014

Witching you...

... a very 
Happy Halloween!!!
Hello everyone,
so glad you stopped by!
Hard to believe Halloween is next week,
seems like we just been here
not so long ago.
I'm very hopeful that the weather will be better
then last year,
RAIN RAIN and more RAIN,
only a few brave ghosts and goblins ventured out
and 
we got stuck with most of the candy :(
Good candy that is,
all our favorites
 and sadly
we had to eat it all by our self.
LoL
Anyway, I have trust in the weathermen
who predict a great night for
Trick or Treating this year!
Keep your fingers crossed!!!

This is this years Halloween card.
 I know you can not see this
but the large black panel is
dry embossed with a spiderweb. 

 A little glitter paint on the flower.
 Love the little rodent!!!
All stamps are from Stampin'Up!
Sentiment - Haunting Halloween
Skeleton - From the Crypt
and the little Rodent - Piece of Poison.

I appreciate you stopping by
and hope you liked what you seen!
Wishing you and yours 
a
Wickedly Wonderful time for Halloween!
Stay Save!
Diana

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Birthday Train!

Hello everyone,
hope your are having a great weekend!
WoW, doesn't it feel like fall outside,
leaves are slowly turning color,
my veggie patch is almost done producing 
and
the grass is slowing down growing.
LoL, I hate to say it but I'm not a bit sad 
about the grass slowing down!!!

Today I would like to share with you my
"Vintage Train Birthday Card"
I made for my Uncle's special day.

 Tickets are stamped with Tim Holtz "The Journey" stamps.
 A little sparkle to catch your eye.

 Train is stamped with Hero Art "Past Times" stamp
and the Railroad Poster is Stampendous!
Old trains bring me back to my childhood,
my Grandpa used to work for the railroad,
he was a Conductor
 and
as a little girl it was always a special treat when my
Grandma took me to visit him at work.
I still love train rides to this day!!!

I hope you liked what you seen,
thanks so much for stopping by my humble blog!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Diana


Saturday, September 6, 2014

A little knit and purl...

Hello everyone,
hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Sorry no card in this post,
I thought I share a little 
knit and purl today!

I finally finished my knitting project
I started a few month ago.
I love playing with yarn during the colder
month, not so much in the summer.
I guess you could say "I'm a seasonal knitter" :-)
But I already had my eyes on a new 
crochet fall scarf, 
if you are like me I'm always burning to get
the new project started and
before you know it you have a few things going
at the same time and nothing finished.
So for a change I made myself finish the pillow
before starting the new scarf.
Well it took me all summer but here is
the finished pillow.
Yarn is Charisma from Loops & Threads,
off white and very soft.

Almost there!
The pattern is reversible.
I choose the flat/smooth side for my pillow.
Coconut buttons.
Hurray, DONE!

Pattern:
Cast-on even number of stitches. 
First row knit one purl one. 
Second row knit all. Repeat pattern of  row one and two.

Now off to my new fall scarf!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Diana