2008 Finishes....

16--Blackbird Designs "Sunflower Sampler"
15--Hollis Designs "Snowy Littles"
14--LK "December Flip-it"
13--FTLOCS Nov 02 "Reindeer Frolic"
12--CSCC J/A 92 "Sunflower Sampler"
11--Midnight Summer Designs "Jingle Sparkle Joy"
10--BC "Rise and Shine"
9--J. Douglas Design "Christmas Tree 07" JCS Ornament 07
8--J. Douglas Design "2008 Ball Ornament" JCS Ornament 08
7--LK "November Flip-It"
6--SB "Be Thankful"
5--BC "Four Trees"
4--LK "Forever Yours"
3--SB "Be Nice"
2--SB "Be Warm"
1--BC "Joy"

Gotta love new stash....

Just got to love new stash that has been acquired on sale! I look forward each year to the sale at Counted Stitches and was prepared this year! My goal was to get all of the thread needed to complete my projects in waiting, but just couldn't resist picking up a few more designs. Now....to get organized and ready for a new year of stitching!

To be more productive and reduce my current stash, I have decided I will not purchase any new designs in the new year and have pulled 50 projects that I would like to start, stitch and hopefully finish before the end of 2009! I have far more than enough waiting to be stitched to last me a lifetime and have decided I should focus on what I have....not what I want. I can ignore their cries for attention any longer. It will be interesting to see how well I handle the pressure and temptation for anything new! Here's to happy stitching in the new year.

Merry Christmas...

to all. I hope everyone has a great day and continued holiday season. We will be with family today and enjoying time with our nephews.

Last Christmas finishes...

Here are two ornaments from one of the JCS issues I stitched for my neighbors kids. I changed the cap covers and added the snowflakes on the caps. I just have to finish them and wrap them up.

I finally finished this BC "Christmas Cracker" design that I have had in my statsh for awhile. I plan to finish it as a flat-fold, my first attempt, and will post a pic once done (maybe....). I think I am done with Christmas stitching and started "Snowy Littles" by Hollis Designs last night. It should be a quick stitch that I can finish before the year end.

We celebrated Christmas with my in-laws and family yesterday and had a wonderful time. This year they decided to give us money and I was so excited! I always go shopping to one my favorite shops, Counted Stitches, for their wonderful after Christmas sale(25% off most items). They are the most wonderful ladies and I just don't get to go often enough (which is probably a good thing!) I have my lists ready and am anxiously awaiting Friday morning....happy stitching!

A Christmas surprise....

was received from MichelleMS from the Pals BB. We participated in a Christmas card exchange and I have a $5.00 gift certificate waiting for me at Down Sunshine Lane courtesy of Michelle. I definitely have some goodies I want to order and this really shows the spirit of Christmas! I will definitely pay it forward and do something nice for someone else. Hope you all have a nice holiday!

Another Christmas finish...

I stitched this last month while on vacation and finally finished it this weekend. I am becoming a huge fan of these cubes and are the easiest no-sew finish. I make it even easier by pinning everything together. Since nothing is permanent, I can change it later if I like. Thanks for looking.

2 Sketches 4 You #15

I love the sketch this week at 2S4U and plan to make some more for Christmas cards using it. My pic is crooked... need to work on my camera skills! Thanks for looking.

Beginning to look like Christmas...

I just love my XS ornament tree that I have in my kitchen. I have had the tree in a box for about 5 years and decided to finally use it! I had finished these back in November and added some other non-stitched ornaments I have accumulated but never used. I just love the way it turned out and can't wait to finish some more.

DH then put together a Dickens Village scene for me by the tree and I just love it. Makes me want to stay in the kitchen more...that's a first! Thanks for looking....

2S4U Sketch #14....

Better late than never. Here is my take on this week's sketch at
2Sketches4U. Make sure you check out all of the great cards for this week's sketch. The DT cards are fabulous. This started out as a Christmas card and somehow turned into a birthday card.

Pals Christmas Ornament exchange...

Michele in WA let me know she received her Pals package and I wanted to post a pic of the ornament I made for her. She loves reindeer and I found this pattern in a old FTLOCS magazine. I hope she enjoys it.


Trying to find a design turned out to be an unexpected joy. I sat and flip through all of my old magazines (20+ years worth) and found so many new designs I want to stitch! It was amusing to see feature articles on "new designers" who by now have become old favorites. This was especially true in my Cross Stitch & Country Crafts mags from the 80's. They did an article on Tina Herman from Shepherd's Bush and we all know how much her designs are loved today. It also made me realize that I absolutely have to much stash!!!! I know what my New Year's resolution will be, but we will save that for a later post.

Well....hubby and I are off to get our tree and decorate the house. All of our stuff was in storage the past two Christmases so we are excited to see all of our old favorites....and see what is broken. It will then be a day filled with college football (my third favorite hobby). I plan to plant myself in front of the TV at 1:00 to watch the ACC championship and continue until the last snap tonight for the Big 12 game! Of course, I will be able to cross stitch the whole time so it should be a very productive day. Hope you enjoy your day as well.

My Clemson Tigers rock...again!!!

Well...we beat our in-state rivals again this year and it was great! Cold, drizzly, cloudy day for football but it was a great day! Way to go Tigers....see you at the bowl game!!!!!

2S4U Sketch#14...

I decided to make a card using the Kazan's wonderful sketch at 2Sketches4You. This is hopefully the first of many Christmas cards I hope to make for this holiday season. Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving holiday and please remember our troops who make celebrations like these possible.

Sunflower Sampler finished...

Well...I started this in January of this year. I have always loved this design and had actually started it on linen back in 1993. I had very little stitched and just decided to start over this past year. I finished most of the stitching by March and it then bacame a UFO. Thanks to Let's Stitch, I was able to finish it during Friday's stitch-a-thon.

It's a Boy!!!!

Welcome baby Connor to the world, born early this morning to my brother and his wife. My brother is beside himself he is so happy and I am very happy for them. I can't wait to meet my new nephew this weekend. Now....I just have to finish the date on the sampler and get it framed by Saturday!

LK Ornament....

I have always loved this LK design from one of the JCS ornament issues. This was the first cube I evered finished and found it while unpacking Christmas stuff. We just moved into a new house and I forgot I had done this last year. The gingerbread man "button" is actually a miniture tree ornament that was part of a 4-pack for 99 cents at Walmart. It is made of resin and thought it fit perfectly. I haven't check this year to see if they have them, but they were too cute for the price. Thanks for looking and happy stitching!

Some finishing done....

I finally finished some ornaments. Finishing is not my favorite thing and I need to look around the web for some more ideas! The first two were stitched in previous years from the JCS ornament issues and the third was just stitched from a freebie.

These were all stitched last year and are from the JCS ornament issues.

I just stitched the first and third this past weekend. The middle was stitched last year and all are from the JCS ornament issues.

I have some other Christmas stuff I want to stitch so I doubt I will get anymore ornaments done this year. Thanks for looking and happy stitching!

2S4U Sketch #13

I really love these sketches at 2Sketches4You and this is my take on Kazan's sketch 13. The temps are still reasonable during the day and chilly at night so I am still soaking up the Fall feeling. Now ... to shift gears to Christmas cards!

Ahhhh..vacation!

I am on vacation this week and have been waiting on this "retreat" for a long time! I took a week in November last year and got so much crafting done for Christmas that I am implementing the tradition of my annual craft retreat! I do plan the obligatory work day in my house and will tend to all of the household chores I have been neglecting since we moved in our house two months ago! The rest is reserved for stitching, papercrafting and shopping for new crafting stuff I don't really need! So much to do....so little time.

This is BC "Rise & Shine" that I finished last night and framed this morning. I have had this design for years and it was a pretty easy stitch. I love the way it turned out and will display in my kitchen.

In addition to the framing, I made some clay buttons using my Sculpey clay to use on SB's "Merry Christmas" pattern. I stitched the design on a smaller count than the design recommended and the JABC buttons provided are too large. They are baking in the oven now and I hope to paint and finish that today also! Not sure how they will turn out and will make the executive decision to elimnate if they don't work. I also have 9 ornaments that are ready for finishing and hope to do that today. I am not much one for finishing and have to be on a roll so I just may have to drag some other stuff (i.e. needlerolls, etc) that need the sewing machine and knock it all out!

Well...off to Hobby Lobby & AC Moore where I am armed with coupons for both. I am sure there is something I just absolutely have to have!!!!

Happy crafting!

Blue & Brown day...

I saw this little gift bag in the Dollar Store and thought it would make a great carrier for some handmade cards. My SIL's birthday is this week so I made her some monogrammed note cards in the color scheme of the gift bag.



I liked the combination of the blue and brown and made some more cards for upcoming occasions. One will be given to a co-worker who is retiring at the end of the year.

I also stitched two ornaments last night and cut the fabric backing to finish them. I decided I might as well finish my other stitched unfinished ornaments while the sewing machine is set up. I cut and pinned the fabric backing and now have 9 ornaments to sew. I was shocked at how many unfinished ornaments I have. Hope to get them completed tomorrow. Can't wait to add them to the Christmas tree this year. I will definitely post pics once finished.

SB "Be Thankful"

I finished the stitching on this a few weeks ago and finally finished it tonight into a cube. I didn't have the buttons so I made my own using clay. I like the pumpkins but had the hardest time with the leaves! I guess I can change them later when I get a chance to visit my LNS.

Enjoy!

My Clemson Tigers rock!!!!

Well...at they at least won! I love college football and especially love my Clemson Tigers. They won a big game (at least for us) today and I got some stitching done on my WIP...BC "Rise & Shine". Nervousness makes you stitch faster. Now...to settle in for a good night of college football. Go Tennessee ;) !!!

Just in time.....

I finished my LK "November Flip-it" stitched on a kitchen towel just in time. I appliques towels to match and will display in my kitchen. Of course...I dared my hubby to touch them. Hopefully I will finish BC "Rise & Shine" so that I can stitch the December Flip-it before the month ends.

2S4U Sketch#12

I like this sketch from 2Sketches4You and decided to make a birthday card for my brother, who celebrated this past week. Better late than never is my motto! The paper is from DCWV Fall Stack. The patterned paper has a light blue background but it doesn't come through on the pic unfortunately.

Getting ready for Halloween...

I made these little tuckaway pillows for Halloween. The pumpkin and cat are buttons I made using Shrinky Dinks since I didn't have any on hand and I just love them!

I also made some Halloween cards and love the combination of the purple, orange & black! I bought a DCWV Fall stack today at Joann's and it has some really cute Halloween paper in it so hopefully I can play with them and make some more cards tomorrow.

Just wanted to take a minute to post...now back to stitching BC "Rise & Shine" and watching college football!

2 Sketches 4 You: Laura's Sketch 11

I found this wonderful blog this week and decided to give the card challenge a try. I decided to make a simple card with some left over paper and I love the colors.

Another week....

Well....what a busy week! My DH and I are huge Clemson Tiger fans and our coach "resigned" this past Monday. I was never a huge fan of him so it wasn't very disappointing that a change was made mid-season. We have a home game tomorrow and will be leaving early Saturday a.m. to be in Clemson by 9:00 am. They are implementing a Tiger Walk and we hope to be there in time to see the players walk to the stadium. We are really excited about the game with Georgia Tech and hope that Clemson can prevail. It has been such an emotional ride this week that it will be interesting to see what happens.

On the stitching front, I did start LK November Flip-it on Thursday night while watching the Fla State/NC State football game. ( I just love college football!) I used DMC since I was stitching on a kitchen towel and didn't compare the DMC colors to the hand-dyed threads used. I started stitching and realized I didn't like the colors which were way off. I spent this evening ripping out some of the stitching so that I can re-stitch with a more appropriate color.

I didn't start the new BC I picked up last week but hope to do so on Sunday afternoon once I finish the LK. I also am itching to do some papercrafting and want to start on my Christmas cards. We just moved about 6 weeks ago and need to send out some "We've Moved" cards. I saw the cutest card in the lates Papercrafts magazine, which was a card made out of corrugated cardboard and cut into a house shape. I definitely have the boxes so it should be easy make the shape.

Well....I am off to bed so that we can get up very early!!!! Happy stitching and crafting.

Creative weekend...

My brother is expecting his first child in November and I attended a shower for his wife today. My gift included a basket of goodies and this chipboard My Word Baby album from Bobunny Press I decorated it in blue and green paper, button, ribbons and charms. I have also stitched LK's "Gift from Heaven" baby sampler and will only need to stitch the date once baby Connor arrives.

I also stitched SB "Be Thankful" and was able to start and finish on Friday. I didn't have the JABC buttons but did have some clay so decided to make my own. I made two pumpkins and am very pleased with the way they turned out. My leaves are another story....but they will do. I plan to finish it as a cube and will post a pic once finished.

My next project in line is BC "Seasons in Change Row". I just picked this up Friday at my LNS and love this chart. I hope to start stitching on Monday and think it will stitch up quick.

Until later....keep stitching.

Karen

Handiwork to me....

I love making things with my hands. I have cross stitched for over 30 years and remember the first thing I ever made! My mom bought me three small kits at a department store for a quarter each and I was instantly hooked. I still have the flower in its original round plastic frame that I gave to my Grandma. I was able to retrieve it when she past away and treasure it now. Over the years my interest in stitching has waxed and waned but I always have something going ( as well as the numerous UFO's). I guess I love the thought of stitching all of the beautiful designs that I love even though I know I will never stitched them all.

I developed my passion for papercrafting when I took a rubber stamping course about 6 years ago. I don't scrapbook, but I love all of the goodies associated with it. The paper, ribbons, and embellishments are perfect for so many projects...cardmaking, frame mats and decorations, magnets and so much more! Even though I started through stamping, I very rarely actually stamp. The added benefit is I can join the two together . My favorite gifts are a small stitched token with coordinating notecards. With a little creativity and I can make the perfect gift depending upon the individual with spending a large amount of money!

Well...welcome to my small part of the world. Let's get creative.

Karen