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

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 

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

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

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

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

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