Buying sttock in Joann's

Or at least I am thinking that I should buy stock in Joann's.  

*******I wonder if you own their stock if they give you a better discount******

So I guess you know that I am going to say that I have been crafting and YES!  I have.  

I finished my first 5*5 quilt.  I was NOT reading the directions through when I read 5*5.  I thought a 5 foot by 5 foot quilt rather than a 5 block by 5 block.  But it was plenty big enough for my first quilt.  I have to learn better how to maneuver the quilt around while quilting it before I can do anything bigger.

 

I got the instructions for this lovely little quilt on this blog: cloud9fabrics.blogspot.com 

It is by no means perfect but I am pretty darn proud of it.

I was determined to get it done before Russel's Mimi left town.  I wanted her to see it and she got to.  I finished quilting it on Friday night.  

On Saturday we had Russel's family Thanksgiving at his parents house.  We had a great time and DELISH food.  Here are a few of the pictures:

I didn't get pictures of everyone but Shannon should be sending me a copy of the group photo.  I think at final count there were 44 people & 5 dogs.  

And when everyone had gone home I broke out the sewing supplies and worked on our new stockings.  I wanted 4 similarly matching stockings this year.  I will probably make a light strand with fabric that matches to go on the hearth.  But for the time being these are our new stockings.....with one more cut out and ready to be sewn. 

I hope that you all are enjoying the holiday celebrations that come with this season of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I know I enjoy time spent with all our family and friends from near and far.  

Stacey

 

Performance Week

I have seen 3 performances in the last 7 days.  I usually don't see that many in a month let alone 7 days.  I loved them all and wanted to give you a little taste. 

Last Thursday, me and one of my besties, Kristie, went to see Wicked at TPAC.  It was SO worth it.  I was worried that I wouldn't love it but I did.  The songs, the dances, the costumes, the story line it all came together to make a spectacular performance.  You can't take pictures during the show but we did snap one before the show started.

 

Then on Tuesday the new show Hell on Wheels presented Jason Aldean at the Music City Star Rail Station downtown.  Leslie, Bryson, Denise, Terry (Les's mom)and I went down for the concert.  I thought he'd play 2 songs and be done but he played at least 5 or 6.  Here are some photos:

Leslie swears he was pointing at her.  :)

Here are the links to the video I shot - I have one more.They are on You Tube:

And last but not least was the AWESOME show put on at the Ryman last night by Straight No Chaser.  If you haven't ever heard of Straight No Chaser just Google them on the internet or search them on YouTube.  They are an a cappella  group that started singing at college in Indiana and now have their own record deal with Atlantic.  It is amazing whet they can do with NO INSTRUMENTS.  Here's some pictures from last night:

Russel and I waiting for the show to start

This is the very last song that they did with no microphones or headsets.

 If you check out Straight No Chaser online you can view their videos which will easily be much better than mine.  

 

 

But here are mine if you don't want to go to the trouble:

Chicken Fried

That Girl is Poison and Billy Jean

Lady Gaga - just a short clip but funny just the same. 


I hope hat you are enjoying your Veterans Day and being thankful for all those who have fought for the rights that we have today. 

Stacey

Sew Little Time....

This week and weekend when I should have been cleaning house for the upcoming arrival of Russel's family for Thanksgiving, I was sewing.  I know. I know.  I should have been dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, and picking up my mess but I couldn't bring myself to just clean...therefore, I would clean a little and sew a little and craft a little in between.  Here are this week's creations and the links that helped me to make them.  

A lovely Fabric Banner for my BRAND NEW HUSBAND BUILT floating shelf that I am now using to store my scrap books on.  I found the BEST directions for the banner here at Home Based Mom.  Her instructions for cutting the pennants were so easy to follow. 

I also decided to work on a baby gift for friends that are due next month.  I made an owl, burp cloth, and bib (reversible) all from coordinating fat quarters.  The link to the owl is on one of my previous posts.  I looked at several different tutorials and blogs and used trial & error until I got a burp cloth that I liked.  Note: When you get cloth diapers they are so nice and square....until you wash and dry them.  When I make another one I will take pictures for a tutorial. The bib came from a post on Sew She Sews.  I didn't make the quilted pieces for the bib like she described but used one solid piece of fabric for both the front and back. If you are going to make this bib PLEASE read the instructions through first.  I almost started cutting before I should have.  But the bib was so easy to make. 

I also TRIED to make a whale softie.  Try being the main word.  He's a little distorted.  The pattern came from i heart nap time.  The pattern and instructions are easy to follow however I am not really great at sewing around corners yet.  I guess that will come in time.  

And last but not least .........

A button tree.  I have seen several pinterest posts and blogs with button trees.  I don't suggest it :)  Not because it isn't the cutest thing ever (because it is!)but buttons are expensive, pins are expensive, and it took for ever.  This tree that is less than 12 inches tall took more than 240 buttons!  

 

I also made a scarf for Aunt Tina.  I took it to her and never even took a picture.  It turned out cute and I will make more but again it was a trial and error.

So family - when you come over and the house is far from spotless - it is because I was busy crafting. 
 

Guest Post by Denise Manning - Holiday Wreaths

Good Morning,

I am so happy to be "Guest Posting" for Stacey.  She has brought me into the world of "Pinterest" and I can honestly say that I am officially addicted..  lol
I came across the cutest holiday wreaths and wanted to try to make them myself for holiday gifts for the girls.  I DO NOT consider myself a crafty person, but I gotta tell ya this was "supa easy" and hopefully the girls will luv them as much as I did.

YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING:
Glue Gun-

Wreath-I used a Grape Vine Wreath, but I think you could probably use any wreath. 

Tulle-I used 2 different colors

Ribbon-I used 4-5 different ribbon per wreath.  I found it easier to use the holiday ribbon that    has the wire in it.  This aloud me to be able to give my bows the shape that I wanted.  (JoAnn's had holiday ribbon on sale this week for 40% off)

Christmas Ornaments-I used some different size ornaments, but I did find it easier to use the smaller ornaments. 

Christmas Sprigs-meaning the things that you see sticking out of the wreath.  You can also find these at JoAnn's this week on sale.  They totally add dimension to your wreath and give it some sass.

Letter-I am using the letter of the last names of the recipient to add to the wreaths.  You can use any size, but I recommend that you go with a little larger letter b/c you want the letter to be able to be seen through all the busyness of the ribbons that you have added.

Paint-I used red, green and silver.  A small bottle each.  You can absolutely use any colors for your letter and just make your ribbon colors to match.

First Step
I painted my letter the colors and patterns that I wanted them to look like.  You want to do this first so you letter has time to dry before hot gluing it to the wreath.

Second Step
Take one color of your tulle and cut about 8 pcs about 12' long.  Take 2 of those pcs and wrap them around your wreath and tie on a knot.  Puff your tulle as you go and then repeat w/2nd color wrapping the wreath in a different area. 

Third Step
Take your selected ribbon and cut in 12' strips and wrap these around the wreath in a bow like you are tying a shoe lace.  Puff your bows as you go.  Then move to your next box in a different area.  I will tell you that I cut about 6-7 bows for each color ribbon that I had.  The more you add the fuller your wreath will look.  When complete I went through and added a dot of hot glue to the middle of all the bows so that they would stay together the way that I formed them.

Fourth Step
I added all the Christmas Sprigs to the wreath.  They do come in long pcs, so you will have to cut them as you go to make them the size you are fitting in the wreath.  The stick easily right down in the grape vine wreath.  I think that if you used styrofoam wreaths it maybe even easier.  Adding a dot of hot glue to keep these in place when I was done placing them all.

Fifth Step
Make sure your letter that you are using is dry and place on wreath where you would like.  When you are sure where you want to letter to be, then add some hot glue to the back of the letter and place on the wreath.  I went back and tied some extra ribbon around the wreath by the letter after hot gluing b/c I wanted to make it look fuller.

Sixth Step
Hot glue ornaments all over the wreath.  This will add all your shine and sparkle.  On my first one I glued ornament top down, but on the second one I just added a dab of hot glue and placed my ornaments where I wanted them on there side.  I liked this look even better. 

Before I knew it I had just made the cutest wreath that I can't wait for my friends to see.  I hope that they will all enjoy them as I truly loved making them all.  This is a present that they can re-use every year and you know that hand made gifts are the "BEST".

Still need to add my "letter"

MY LAST TIP:
Have fun with it..  There really are no rules, no color boundaries, no size boundaries...  Every wreath will be a little different and that's what makes them unique. 

Hope ya'll have as much fun as I did......... 

and "Thank YOU" again Stac for letting me post....