For anybody in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area

 

I desperately need to update my photography portfolio, and I feel like I haven’t taken pictures of people in years! In reality its been about 6 weeks if you don’t count Mule, and I don’t cause he always tries to hide his face. Where is the fun in that???

 

So I am asking for your help… I’m happy to work for a cold soda or iced coffee if it means getting to meet new people and have some photography fun. Do you know anyone in the Dallas/Fort Worth or Wichita Falls area? I live in the middle of those 2 places and I am happy to travel an hour or so either way (if farther, I’m willing to do a session for gas money :D   ). And since I’m new to Texas, I don’t know that many people. If you or someone you know would be interested in a FREE photo session in either of these areas, comment below with your email.

This is not a “giveaway” with a limited number of sessions, I’m willing to work with who ever is interested between now and the end of  September (I have to put a timeline on it or I’ll be working for free for forever!) I’ll be giving each “client” a disc with a copy of the pictures. Family, Senior, Baby, Sweet Heart or Engagement sessions, A Group of friends… really doesn’t matter I just wanna take pictures.

You can check out some more of my work on my photography page

A Perfect Fall Vase

 

About 4 months ago, before I moved to Texas, my fiancé showed me a website that different cowboy boots and western things that he liked. While I was looking around I stumbled across the cutest candle holders made out of twigs. Unfortunately this was long before I knew about pinterest or blogging, or was smart enough to bookmark the page. So there is no picture to show you. But I’ve had this idea of using twigs for a while. Last week I finally did something about it :)

I started collecting twigs while I was out with the dog. I tried to pick the straightest ones possible, which if you’ve ever looked at a tree is not that easy.

I used a straight sided vase (Wal-Mart for $1.50 on sale), E-6000, a scrap of fabric, an old serrated edge knife and some hemp rope.

 

This was my first time working with the E-6000 glue. Definitely need to put news paper or something under to protect your work surface. I got it all over my fingers too :s

 

Working slowly and carefully I trimmed the twigs to the right length, and then glued them to the vase. This might sound like a quick and easy “make over” but in truth it took almost 2 hours. And then I needed to let it sit over night to be sure the glue was dry.

 

I used some of this fabric in the rag quilt I made recently (see it here) and had a couple smaller pieces left over.

Wrap it around the twig covered vase, glue the end down, tie with hemp rope and Ta-Da! A perfect fall vase.

Now all I need are some flowers to put in it *cough*MULE!*cough*

 

I’ve made some candle and tea light holders, but alas, I have yet to take pictures. Its on my to do list for Thursday though :)

Things I GOTTA Try Tuesday.

 

This weeks 5 things I gotta try…

 

This would be a perfect dinner. If only we had a deck to eat it on.

 

I’m going to attempt to make a couple of these this week. I found a tutorial here.

Love these bracelets!

 

Believe it or not, those flowers are made from a soda can!

 

      Going to try and make my own :)

Monday’s Suck/Getting Organized

 

My Mister was off this weekend and I had such grand plans in my head. Unfortunately that’s as far as they got. I’m not sure who’s brilliant idea it was for me to move to Texas in the middle of one of the HOTTEST summers on record… but it sucks! Don’t get me wrong, I love Texas… but its hotter than Hades here and this NORTHERN girl is having issues. Saturday and Sunday were spent hiding inside with the nice a/c and watching Animal planet. Not a entirely awful way to spend a weekend. But add in a puppy throwing tantrums and getting only 2 hours of sleep Saturday night and it was a rather blah weekend.

OK.

I’m done ranting.

For now…

 

Since this weekend was a bust and Monday morning hasn’t been much better, I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. I’m getting organized!

I am definitely the kind of person that thrives on to do lists and routine. So I’m going to get these things in place and get my butt in gear. And some accountability never hurt either. Putting my to do list into the Blogosphere means I’m going to have to follow up!

So here goes…

Organize the pantry cupboard.
Clean out the fridge
Stay on top of the laundry
Finish the baby quilt I started.
Organize both of my blogs better and add the proper pages
Figure out how to make blog buttons
Update the household budget
Inventory/organize my craft supplies (just in time for stash busting September)
Write some letters to people back home
Call my family and have a good chat

+ all the regular household stuff and cleaning I need to do.

I’m going to do 2 of the above things each day this week. I’ll update you at the end of the week :)

My Very First!!

Guess what??

I was featured for the Very First Time!!!!!

Amber from Quilted Euphoria featured my Rag Quilt this week :)

After a less than perfect weekend, this is just the inspiration I needed to keep going. :-)

Keep It Simple Sunday

Simple, but Tasty Dinner is the Best

Cheesy Chicken Tenders…

1 Package of Boneless, Skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 a box of cheese crackers ( I used cheez-its)
1/2 a teaspoon of Salt, Garlic, and any other seasonings you like

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Slice the chicken breasts in to 1 inch strips. Crush the cheese crackers really well. Add the seasonings to the crushed crackers and pour into a shallow dish. Place sour cream in shallow dish.

Roll the chicken strips in the sour cream and then roll in the cracker mix. Place on a foil covered over sheet. Cook for 14-18 minutes.

The sour cream keeps the chicken nice and tender :) So Good!!!

Key Holder

Sorry I’ve been a little bit quiet this week. I’ve been busy with a bunch of projects and puppy training. Projects are going great! Puppy Training.. well lets just say there is still lots to do.

One of the projects I worked on was a Key Holder. Wasn’t too much work, but it was definitely needed if I am ever going to keep the bar in the kitchen cleaned off.

I found the perfect frame on sale at Wal-Mart, grabbed some white paint, some screw hooks, and a chipboard “s” I already had. Added some paper behind for a pop of color and its perfect.

Originally I was going to use some black sparkle damask paper that I have, but I decided that it needed color. The green and white paper is perfect. I’m thinking that it’s a perfect color combo for when the den/craft room gets its make over.

I could give a detailed tutorial, but I think that the pictures are pretty self explanatory.

Mule is off this weekend, and we’re going to head to the lake with the puppy if its not too hot. I’m hoping that I’ll get some nice sunset pics

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

Lovin’ Me Some Rags :)

 

Finally its Finished!

If you’re just tuning in I’ve been working on a Rag Quilt for the past 2+ weeks. I think in total I’ve put in almost 15 hours getting this little beauty put together. But its been worth all the blood, sweat and tears!

How did I do it? Well here is how to make your very own rag quilt…

 

Start by selecting your fabrics. For this one I used up a lot of odds and ends and left over fabric from other projects. There was no pattern to the placement of squares. The only “rule” is that the same color/pattern couldn’t be touching. Its completely eclectic and I LOVE it !

Next you need you fill layer. I upcycled an older fleece blanket.

The fabric squares are 7x7 inches and the filler squares are 6x6 inches, allowing for a half inch “rag seam” once sewn together.

 

Now its time to layer your squares together. I uses the same fabric front and back, so all I had to do was insert the filler square. To keep the squares together sew and “X” across each fabric “sandwich”I forgot to take a pic of this step. Sorry!

Time to figure out how I want the squares to fit together :)

Sorry about the mess on the floor.

 

 

Now comes the fun part!

Following the pattern you’ve chosen, sew your squares together. Make sure the seams are reinforced where the squares join. We don’t want it to fall apart!

To finish the edges of the quilt you can either sew all around the outside or use coordinating fabric to put a band around the edge to completely close the outer edges.

I didn’t take a picture of the most boring and time consuming part of making a rag quilt :s Once the whole thing is together you have to snip EVERY SEAM! This is an important step because this is what give it the ragged, worn and comfy look/feel. This quilt took 5 LONG hours to snip. Thank goodness Jeff Dunham was on the comedy network!

Once snipped wash and dry, this rags up the edges nicely. BE forewarned – there will be little threads everywhere. I recommend taking the finished quilt to a laundry mat and wash and dry there. Don’t wash it with other bedding or clothing. You can use a clothing roller to pick up the threads off the quilt if desired.

The Finished Product = Fits the Queen bed perfectly. Measures 92 x92 inches

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Things I GOTTA try Tuesdays

 

I’ve decided that I need some theme days… Going to start with Things I GOTTA try Tuesdays :) It will be my top 5 craft/project/DIY ideas for the week.

 

With out Further Ado…

 

This Weeks Top 5 Are…

How to make a secret Hollow Book

I’ve always wanted a secret book to hide things in. I think this would make a fantastic jewelry box.

Tiny Polaroid Magnets

Aren’t these adorable? They look simple to make too! They’d look so good on my fridge :)

 

Beaded Silver Cuff Bracelet

I want! I want! I want! Going to attempt this in the next couple days… I’ll let you know how it works out.

 

Chicken Wire Chandelier

This is so country chic! I’m not the biggest fan of the bird, but its perfect otherwise. Next year when I get a chance to make the backyard more “interesting” there will definitely be a few of these hanging from the trees.

 

Custom Sugar Scrubs

Looks good enough to eat! And you probably could if you wanted to. The ingredients are simple and the directions pretty basic. But what a treat for your skin!

 

Join me next week for Things I GOOTTA try #2. And if you have any suggestions for things I should try, pass them on :)

Can I go a whole month without buying Craft Supplies???

So I was going through my google reader this morning, like I do every morning and I came a across a post from my friend Zoe over at Scout’s Stitches. IT had some info and a lovely little link over to the T-Shirt Diaries that looks like this

The challenge is to go ALL OF SEPTEMBER without buying any crafting supplies for personal use (business supplies are ok). I want to say yes… I want to join up. I want to WIN the contest giveaway (did I mention there was a giveaway?). I want to get on these projects that I’ve got the supplies for, but haven’t gotten around to doing yet. But I have an addiction…

Maybe its time to challenge myself and get some stuff done… I think I need to write a list…

And of course, there are still 11 days in August to get supplies *insert evil shopping grin here*

Keeping Busy

Yes I am still working on my Rag quilt… but if I didn’t take an occasional break, my sanity would be in jeopardy! So last night I made some more Jewelry

I think I just needed to do something that was quick and easy. Especially since there is nothing “quick” about making a quilt. But, I WILL get it done. Hopefully this week. Maybe?

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