Summercrafter

 Main St. Trolley Memphis, Tennessee 1. Don't complicate yourself with jewelry! Wear something generic that you don't have to take off or put on. Keeps things from getting lost and adding 2 minutes in the morning before you head out. 2. Hair: Children and yours. Bows are nice but ponytails and headbands are fast and easy. 3. Outfits: We are not trying to look cuter than a stranger. I found shirts I like and bought them in a few colors. Keeps the tanline the same and I am happy and comfortable. 4. Shoes: I throw all of them (belonging to everyone) in a separate duffle, that way if I want to take a cute sandals, flip flops and sneakers, I don't hog all the suitcase space.  Candy jars from Diana's Sweet Shoppe , Nashville, TN 5. Go ahead buy the kids their own pocket size toothpaste, the peace will be worth the 97 cents! 6. Encourage kids to take souvenir money for the ones you think are not worth it. 7.  Make sure your camera has a...

So much for planning all my crafting, quilting and other project ideas.... Here is how those are going.. Impromptu decorated thumb tacs: white paint, velum stickers. Quilting safety pins? check! Backing fabric (reversed) check! Batting and Quilt top, ready to go... check! But then, the flu.... The odd occurence at my house is the children are bad patients! They don't know how to act when they don't feel well. It's next to impossible to get them to drink Gatorade. Lying in bed all day is foreign to them. They are puzzled if just for one day they don't wash their hair. They think they'll have a cold/fever/flu the whole summer. They don't want chicken soup! They are worried they haven't eaten all day. They won't watch TV. They wonder why they have taken so many naps. They won't let me be a proper caretaker! Am I the only one with this problem?? Thankfully they are on the dow...

The end of the school year is such a hectic time for obvious reasons: Cleaning up, picking up, inventory, throwing out, getting teacher gifts, then the kids are home the rest of the summer! LOL! I always like to craft something for some special people but inevitably, the end of the year sneaks up on me and before you know it, the last day arrives and I am empty handed! Yes sure, I have made some gifts during the year but some new babies were born into families at the workplace and that's a perfect excuse to stay up into the wee hours of the night and make a little something for the munchkins...( girls seem to be the trend now ) Now, this is why I always say to be prepared for any opportunity or necessity , to craft. It was such a head start to have the 3 inch squares already pre-cut. First I combined and matched pieces to make a 5 inch square (roughly) Shame on me! I didn't iron them before the picture....sorry!! ...

Just wanted to send a little post to let you know that the new badge on the blog (see right) is for the new blogging class I am taking.  I am so excited. It's with Holly Becker   (Interior Design extraordinaire!!)and friends.  Click below and it will take you right there. I hope to learn new tricks to improve the blog and "get out there" more. Life is about learning and growing. We can't expect to stay in our own little bubble, try to figure stuff out and maybe or maybe not , things will work out, now can we? So don't be scared friends. Face your fears, step out in faith and take a chance!  Take a class just for fun on something you like and are interested in or maybe something that is "out of the box" for you. It will open a world of new people and experiences and it will make your life richer, what could be better?

Why Itty Bitty Signs? Well, they are quick and painting them is relaxing.  And they make great gifts and can be quite inspirational! Craft Wire for the handles/hangers. I do start off with a plan, believe it or not; phrases, ideas, people... But somehow, during the creative process the plans go out the window! These are the ones I am still working on ( I needed more supplies).

This Summer I am planning 2 or 3 mini quilts (maybe more!): A Hannukah runner, Vintage 1930's prints in tiny squares with white, and more Dr. Seuss mini quilts that are great for a classroom libraries! And with the scraps I can make placemats for the kids! And I am so excited to get started with all the new fabric !   If I work on a schedule, 1 per week should be doable. I find that the more I do, the easier it seems to get. Time is what I am lacking though, but with just a few days of school left,  that problem may be solved soon enough. Then I also have some cross stitch that has long since been forgotten.... I'll probably take that on the road. There are all those Christmas crafts I bought supplies for....what about all the magazines filled with post its?  Did I mention scheduling some craft dates with friends?  Aaah, the options are endless! I may craft my way through a book just to exercise left brain fu...