New Ornies

I wanted to share with you the newest ornies I completed. The penguin ornie I adapted from a Threadbare Primitives. I love her patterns & have adapted many to suit my current needs. I am really loving how the penguin turned out.

We have been busy as bees here trying to get ready for our family to come. The count right now is 6 guests. Not exactly sure where we will stack them. LOL I told hubby we may have to string hammocks. We are super excited to have everyone coming to our new home in a new city.

We have lots & lots of activities planned. The most exciting one is taking my mom to Graceland. She has bever been & it has been a lifelong dream to go. I know it will be decked out to the hilt. Can't wait to see her eyes light up. We are also hosting a party at our home where everyone brings a gift & you can steal back & forth. My friend informed me that they call it a Dirty Santa Party here in the south. I had never heard that expression before & still feel it sounds just wrong. lol I will be back to share pics as we move through the holidays.

Have a productive day! ~Toodles

Tis The Season..

Lets get ready to decorate! lol

I cant believe Thanksgiving is over in a blink of an eye...GONE! We had our first "Official" T-Day dinner with invited guests (can you believe it....invited & they came.) Seriously though, we had an amazing day. Everything went off without a hitch. It was kind of scary. Our daughter Tarynn's boyfriend's family (are you lost yet?) came for dinner. It was really nice to sit back & relax & get to know them better.

So now it's December 1st & I'm thinking I have a lot to do. My parents are coming around the 14th or 15th. My great grandma is flying in the 15th as well. Our best friend Dave is planning on flying up & my son Taylor is trying to come home too. If I get this all pulled off it will be a Christmas miracle. I am so excited to have the family all together. I am giddy....plain ol giddy with excitement.

I have'nt seen my son since May & that was only for a few hours. He recently just got back from training in Death Valley. They are getting ready for another deployment to Iraq. Apparently, his squad is trying to get it changed to Afghanistan. I am praying that they dont. It's just so scary for them. He did inform us that he re-enlisted & should swear in again sometime in June. It will probably take place in Iraq since they are scheduled for deployment in April. He was rather excited to tell us that they may be stationing him in Germany once he returns from Iraq. This child has always wanted to go there. He has had a fascination with it since early middle school. He even taught himself to speak German (and is pretty good according to his previous high school teacher). I'm so excited for him.

I was making all my lists & trying to get things done & out of the way for Christmas. I want to have as much time to visit & sightsee as possible. I have been baking like a mad woman. This weekend I tried to make cinnamon rolls. I cheated & used the frozen bread dough. They came out awesome. So easy. They are now officially on the menu for Christmas morning. Hahaha Hubby & Trav loved them. We put up our first set of outside lights on saturday. That was an all day affair. Sunday we decided to attack the tree. My poor hubby is probably ready to run for the hills but the tree is up & the lights are all in place. It looks beautiful! This year is my year..I get the white lights. We dont agree on the lights so we have to alternate each year. I like white & hubs likes colored...so we compromise. LOL Anyone else have these issues?

I'm working on more ornies. I am hooked I tell ya. I love the fact that I can sit with the guys at night while they watch tv & just stitch away. I am definitely going to be ordering more patterns. I have even decided to try & make some of my own designs too. I'll post pics of what I get done.

I know it's been awhile & I have been rambling on & on today. Whats scary is that I'm positive that there is a ton more I want to share. Hahaha

Well run while you can....before I remember something else.......Go create something!

~Toodles

Holiday Creativeness

Well I have four of the six ornies done. I loved making them. It's always fun working on Christmas goodies. I also love the fact that I can sit with the family & stitch while they watch

tv or take it on the go in the car.

Since I made a few extra....if anyone would like to purchase any of these cuties, just message me. I can take a handful of requests so I have time to get them to you to enjoy before the holidays. I plan on using them on the tree, for package toppers & possibly teacher gifts. So give me a holler if you are interested. The pricing will be $5.00 each or 3 for $12.00.

I have to get back to my baking. I am making a pumpkin pie & a pumpkin cheesecake for my daughter. Lots to prep & get done before Thursday.

If for some reason I dont get back on to blog tomorrow, have a Happy Thanksgiving with family & friends. Be safe & remember to take lots of pictures. Blessings to you all!

~Toodles

A Dash & Something Old, New & Re-used

Hello Blogland~

I survived the weekend. My daughter & I were in a contest here locally called the Diamond Dash. It was set up like a mini Amazing Race. You had to write a letter telling why you should be picked. I wrote about my daughter and her unselfishness & her willing to help out others. So we did get accepted & were ready for the challenge. The race had 250 teams competing for a $12.000.00 diamond.

We completed the race but did'nt win. We considered ourselves winners for just completing the task at hand. I'm sure, when it was said & done, we walked about three miles & climbed numerous flights of stairs. We had an amazing time.....no pun intended hahaha. I felt a personal victory in completing the race. 55lbs ago I would not of been able to do that. I have missed out on so many inter-active activities with my children from being overweight & being self conscious & not wantingt to embarass them. It felt good to be able to do this with my daughter & have the memories that we did it. Poor Tarynn was exhausted. She said next year will be easier not being pregnant. LOL She recently walked in the Race For The Cure & wants me to do that next year. I think I can actually put that on my bucket list & hopefully complete that one too. *Ü*

Here's my something old. I got my t.p. rolls cut & glued. They are going together quite quickly. I purchased the spray paint & glitter for them. I'm going with a white paint & a light periwinkle glitter. You really have to try these. So simple & great for kids. I want to make some into hanging ornies & tie some on to packages.

My new is this. One of my dear friends Pat has gotten so many cute patterns from Countryside Crafts. I finally took the time to get over there & order some patterns. This is my first pattern from them to try. I ordered two. We will see how they come out. I have all the wool cut out to make four ornies per design. I think they are just so cute. Go check out what they have to offer. I was amazed how fast they shipped them to me and I'm impatient when it comes to snail mail. lol

Now for my re-used. Hahaha I have found this urge & need to re-purpose things. It's kind of a self challenge if you will. Thats how I came up with the t.p. roll snowflakes. lol I'm working on some Christmas mini albums for gifts. These are so fun & packed full of embellishments that I wanted to think outside of the box. I was digging around in my closet of stash...aka craft crap per hubby & found gift bags. I adore snowmen! I decided why could'nt I cut these up & use them in my albums or my gift tags that I make. So I grabbed some up that I wont be using & started cutting away. What a great idea for those bags that get a lil to worn to use again but would look great in a distressed type album. Well, I dont know about you but I loved it. This is one of the bags that I will be using. I will be sure to show you the album upon completion so you can see how I used them.

Well I have to get back to my baking. I made peanut butter chewies, "stuft" cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies & lastly 1/2 choc. chip 1/2 double choc cookies. Trying to get a jump on the holiday baking. :)

Have a wonderful crafty day.

~Toodles