Christmas in July

Hi,
Imagine that is cold outside (not the 90 degrees plus we have been having lately) and we are sitting in front of a blazing fire. This coming month, I plan on sharing some of my bestselling Christmas items that are quick and easy to make, new patterns and some holiday crafts.

Pretend the House is decorated for Christmas. In this picture above, I bought a lighted white tree at the McIntosh show, which I absolutely love. Next to it, I have my gingerbread wooden card holder.



I found this old wood distressed cabinet in a catalog several years ago and love it. I put up the distressed board wallpaper and bought all off white distressed cupboards. You can see my kitchen cabinets, we purchased them at Home depot, I saw them and fell in love with them. I put my candy cane sign and hang stockings and santa cap on it every year.

My living room has a fake fireplace that I hang patchwork stockings that my mom made for us several years ago. Now that she is gone, they will be even more special to us this year.

View of tree we put the present under, I actually put up 2 trees every year. If you look on the side bar of the blog you will see the prim tree I bought off ebay.

View of the kitchen with some of the decorations from last year. This year I plan on changing how I decorate, I am going for a more prim look.

I have been working on some Santa ornaments, these are from an old pattern of mine from the You are Special Line called #141 Christmas pals. I am planning on bringing back some of the older patterns this year. I sprinkled these with the german glass glitter.

I am going to start with some simple, quick and easy ideas that have proven to good sellers.

I make the reindeer food every year and place in a big basket with a sign that clearly says REINDEER FOOD . In the first picture I used a graphic from http://www.ewenprintables.com/ for the design on the paper sack , and place a ziplock bag into paper bag. The second bag seems to appeal more to kids, it has a Reindeer graphic and they can see what is in the bag.

The Graphic for the following tag is in the share box in the side. Just save to your computer and resize to fit your bags. Walmart has a selection of bags in the craft section.

The recipe for the reindeer food is:

1 cup oats
1 cup birdseed

1/2 cup glitter

Next, I am sharing my Santa's Key, this is so easy and has been a bestseller for me for a couple of years now. Grandmas always love to pick these up for the grandkids. Look on the side of the blog and you will see the share it box. You will receive the graphic and text, I use to make mine. I use heavy card stock, print 4 on a page. I package these in zip lock bags. I sell these for $1.95. They fly off the shelf.

Check back often as I will adding more pics and freebies to the blog. I have a new graphic coming with a Christmas logo, that I will add as soon as I get it.

Sunday afternoon

Hi all,

things seem to be settling down here, my dad seems to be feeling better. So I just hope it lasts for a while. My dad's little poodle finally made up with my daughter, Samantha, he has been pouting since we got the puppy. But right before I had to take him back to my dads, he wanted to friendly to Samantha. He must have known he was going home. It is so strange, last time my dad came home, the poodle wouldn't hardly even go to him, and this time he sleeps right next to him and lays at my dad's feet.

My husband Todd finally got his new car (at least new to him) it is a BMW. It is a couple of years old. He is so proud of it. We had been having to share a car between the two of us after selling the one we had bought for my daughter in high school. My husband is not impulsive, he likes to think about things before he buys. He bought if off an auction in New Jersey and had it shipped down here. The only problem is, it is a stick shift and guess who can't drive it (ME) Wonder if he did that on purpose.

Well, if you are like me, you probably have tons of patterns that you have never made, but are just collecting in your crafting room. I decided I am going to try to go make some of these patterns up. I want to bring back some of the older items, I used to sell. This Raggedy wynter pattern is from Katies Homespun Stitches, I pulled it out and made up 5 of them this weekend.
I love the way she turned out. So I am going to go pull some more older patterns and try to get them made up this week.

Remember I am planning on a Christmas in July, starting July 1st, I am going to be previewing some of my new Christmas Items. I will also be posting freebies that have been good sellers for me, and that are quick and easy to make. We are also planning on having our biggest giveaway yet. So keep watching.

The Winner of my giveaway is.....

Hi all,

The winner of this giveaway is Alexandria of the Northwindstar. So, please send your address and I will get this right out to you. Thanks to everybody who left a comment. I will be having another one shortly.

Well an update on my dad, they released him yesterday, but honestly I don't know how long he will be home. He said he isn't going back to the hospital, he is just going to die at home. He is still having trouble breathing, even though his heart is beating normally now after all the procederes he had. He just doesn't seem to care about anything anymore. The nurse is coming to his house today, so I have to be there, to relearn how to do the IV for his antibiotics. So please continue to keep him in your prayers. I always thought that when my mom passed away, he wouldn't last long, and I am starting to wonder if that is going to be the way it is. He is cold all the time, won't turn the a/c on, the house is getting mold growing in places. I keep telling him it will make him sick, but he sits in his house and it is over 85 degrees and keeps saying he is cold. It is just too hot in that house for anyone, no one can stay long because of the temperature. But he doesn't care. So I guess time will tell, he is stubborn and has decided he wants out of this world. So I guess we will see, time will tell.

So thanks again for your comments and prayers and I will hopefully be posting some pictures of new patterns shortly.

CARMENS VISIT

Well, my best friend Carmen came up today, unfortunately, we only got to spend a few hours together. She brought us some Georgia peaches, fresh eggs from her farm and vegetables. Her Hubby got done too early at the doctors and she had to drive back and get him. But I was able to see her new witch dolls in person. They look great, so if you are looking for witches check out her site at http://www.littlecountryblessings.com/ She has a big witch vaccum cover, bagcover and witch doll. I took a few pictures of her with the dolls. We did manage to get to good will, she found some goodies, but I didn't find a thing.

We exchanged some patterns and got caught up on things. We don't get see each other very often, so it is always great getting together. When our daughters were younger, Carmen and her daughter used to come up and spend about a week at a time with us. The girls would play and complain about being dragged to all the fabric stores and such. Sure miss those times.

We hope to get together again soon, and start our candle making, sewing projects and just getting ready for our shows and compare notes.

Don't forget, you still have time to enter my giveaway in the previous posts.

NEW GIVEAWAY AND UPDATE

Hi all,

I have a new giveaway, this time it is a prim dress with hanger, a blank kraft journal with vintage picture and assorted of tarts. So please leave me a comment and I will pick a winner on Friday Night. You must be a member of my blog to enter.

Well, my daughter took her puppy swimming in our pool yesterday. Her and a friend took him to the beach on Saturday and he seemed to love the water. Finally she has learned how to come in and out of the cat door and go potty. The little surprises she has left for me seemed to be getting less and less. She is still a handful. As you can see, my dad's little poodle is sitting there watching.

We hopefully have some good news about my dad, he had a light put down into his heart to check for clots, (which they didn't find anymore) then had his heart shocked to make it work better. So far so good. He said he is feeling better, I guess time will tell. He may get out as soon as Wednesday. So keep him in your prayers please, maybe he will be able to come home and feel better. We went and saw him in the hospital for Father's day, he seemed to be fairly good spirits and was eating his lunch, which he seemed to enjoy. My husband is sitting in the background. We still have to wear those gowns into his room when we visit, because of the merca infection he has. They said it seemed to be cleared up, so I guess it is just a precaution.

Well, getting ready for my visit with Carmen tomorrow. Have to get the house cleaned up and get all my goodies out to show her. We only have a few hours tomorrow to visit. she is dropping her hubby off the hospital in Lake City and coming on to Starke, then will go back and get him when he is ready. We will be going the local goodwill store looking for treasures and showing each other our newest creations. She is going to bring her new witches and show me. So hope to have pictures tomorrow to post of our visit together tomorrow.

Thanks for all your continuing prayers and support through my dad's sickness. I will have a new update after Carmens visit and keep watching for my Christmas in July.

It never ends

Well, we brought my dad home Friday. He was glad to get home to his dog, Buddy. He had a pickline installed in his arm. We had a nurse come to house to administer the medicine for the IV, to teach him, how to do it himself. She wasn't comfortable with him doing it everyday, so I was asked to do it for him. So I started to learn how to give him his medicine through the IV lines. Everything was fine for a few days, then yesterday he had trouble breathing, the doctor said call the Rescue Unit and he was sent back to the hospital in Gainesville, they said he has too much fluid around his heart and lungs and his heart is not strong enough to keep it off. So they are trying to figure out what to do, they said a pacemaker was not an option. So hopefully medicine will the key. He was so happy to be home after about a month away. Now he is back and lot of the nurses remember him which is nice. So he was very calm when he finally got to his room, after spending over 6 hours in the emergency room. So not sure how long is he going to be in for this , this time around. So please continue to keep him in your prayers.

On Monday, we celebrated my daughters 19th birthday, hard to believe that my baby girl is not a baby anymore. I miss the days when she wanted to hug me and cuddle with me. Those days are long gone. She is so independent now, which I guess is the way it supposed to be, but hard on moms, this mom especially.

Thanks for your prayers and hopefully I will updating this week sometime with pictures of some new items. I am planning on having a Christmas in July on my blog, with easy Christmas ideas and crafts for the shows this year. Trying to figure out to put a free pattern button on the blog for some ornaments to share with you. So keep checking back for our Christmas in July and next giveaway.

Finally got some Fall and more Chrismtas stuff done

Hi all,

Finally some good news, if it doesn't change tonight. They said my dad can go home tomorrow. I don't understand how 5 days ago, they said he had to go to a rehab, and now they say he doesn't and can have a nurse come in to his home and give him his antibiotice shots and teach him how to do it. It just doesn't make sense, how he has had 2 silent heart attacks in the past week and an irregular, rapid heartbeat and now they say he can go home and take care of himself. So, unless something else happens tonight, it looks like he will be home tomorrow, it has been almost 3 1/2 weeks since he has been home. I will be so glad to take his little doggie back to his house, 3 dogs are just too many in one small house. I know he said he won't want to leave his house for a long time, not even to go to the store, he missed his rocking chair and dog.

So, I got some more sewing done, I made up some little Santa ornaments. I am going to try to put as many finished items as I can in little zip baggies this year with a header on. They look so much neater, and will much easier to store. Their beards will stay nice and not stick to everything else they come in contact with. I love the way they turned out. I am going to make a bunch of these as I think they may sell fairly well, I am going to price them at $4.50 each.

Finally got to work on some pumpkins, these turned out nice. I stuffed them with my extra pieces of scrap fabric. So they are nice and heavy. I painted them with the terra cotta colored acrylic paint and then sanded and stained them. I made 2 prim crows, cut some leaves from an old quilt and painted them with a dark green acrylic paint and attached to the tops of pumpkins with lots of the green floral moss. I hope to get some scarecrows made this weekend. It is supposed to stay sunny.

Well, just wanted to update you on my dad and show you some of the things I got finished this week.

Another update and New Dog

Hi,
My dad took another turn for the worse. He was sent to the rehab/nursing home on Friday about 3:00 in the afternoon and by 4:00 Sunday morning he was back at the Hospital, with a rapid heartbeat and nosebleed. He was also having trouble breathing. So he was readmitted on Sunday and that same afternoon had another silent heart attack. They want to do a heart Catheterization, but he has too much fluid built up around his heart, so they have to wait till the fluid goes down. He sounds so downhearted right now, not like himself at all. I think he really thinks he won't ever come out of the hospital, and sometimes I wonder myself. He told me today, he feels lost. I took him a picture of his poodle and made it into a card, that said: Dear Daddy, I love you and Miss you. Hurry home to me. Love Buddy. That was about the only thing he seemed to get happy about, he made sure his nurse saw his little doggie. So please continue to keep him in your prayers. It looks like it is going to be a long process.

Well, now to the other news. My daughter brought home her new puppy. Of course, he is playful, my dog Belle, gets along get with her, but you guessed it. The poodle Buddy is not happy at all, he growls and trys to start trouble with her. So now all I hear all day is growling and snarling if someones gets too close the other ones food. I will take my cats any day over a dog.

Just wanted to update you on my dad's condition and hope to get some time this week to stitch and sew.

Made some new dolls today

Hey

Check out the previous posting to see who won this week. I will be having another giveaway soon. I managed to get some sewing done today. Got 3 dolls made, these are big dolls, they are made from a pattern from my friend Carmen at http://www.littlecountryblessings.com/ These prairie dolls are big, they measure about 48" tall. You can make them into a vacuum cleaner cover or just add a hanger on back for hanging on the wall. I used some feedsack images, I purchased from Ewe n' me printables. Love the way they turned out.

Here's an update on my Dad, he has been transferred to a Rehab/nursing home for 6 weeks. He has to be on an IV that was placed in his arm and runs up to his heart, kind of like a permanent IV. He developed Merca while he was in hospital, so they have him on some strong antibiotics. But it so sad, he is so depressed knowing that it will be 6 weeks, till he can come home. He said it was a very depressing place. He doesn't know it, but his doctor in town is trying to get him transferred to Starke, our home town. If he gets transferred, it will be so much easier, no hour drive there and hour back. We will be able to come and get him for outings and he will be able to leave and come home a little each day. The nursing home is only about 10 minutes away if he gets transferred, so keeping my fingers crossed. We are not saying anything to him, don't want to get his hopes up yet.

The Winner of this week's giveaway is:

Hi
The winner of this giveaway is: schutt6
Please contact me with your mailing address and I will get this out to you Monday. Thanks so much for entering my giveaway. Hope you will enjoy the basket of goodies.

I also decided to draw two other names for some of my newest tarts. I had so many nice comments, I hated to have just one winner, so these two ladies will get an assorted of my tarts: The Carolina Peddler and Countercrafts. So ladies please send me your mailing addresses and I will get these out to you. Thanks again to all that entered, please check by often for our next giveaway.
sandy

ENTER MY PRIM GIVEAWAY

Giveaway Basket this week

Hi,

I am having another giveaway this week, so please leave me a comment. You must be a member of my blog to enter. This week's giveaway includes: 3 room sprays,(Gingerbread, Clove and fireball cinnamon spray) assortment of tarts, 2 bars of prim soap and a little prim doll. I will pick a winner Saturday night. I will place all the names in a basket and have my husband draw one.

Well, my dad seems to be doing better, he is still in the hospital, but hopefully be coming out soon, they are talking about him going to rehab. I guess to get his strength back up. I have been taking care of his little poodle. I have to say, he is a little terror. My dog gets along with anything, but this little dog chases my cats back out the cat door as soon they try to come in. I have hardly seen my gray cat for the last 2 weeks. My black cat (Crybaby) seems to tolerate him, but the dogs get into it everynight, usually over a little piece of food, the poodle is guarding. He won't eat it, just wants to sit there and growl whenever anybody comes by.

Buddy

We were at the hospital last night visiting my dad, and my daughter send us both a text message with a picture of a little puppy. She has been begging for another dog for awhile now, and we said no. But of course, her boyfriend just happens to bring home a little puppy for herand says it is for her birthday. I think they had it planned, but she says no, with a big smile on her face. So I guess, we will have a new member of the family shortly. Just what we need is another animal, living in town. This dog looks like it is going to be a big one, she said around 40 pounds, when it is full grown. She had been wanting a pit bull puppy of all things, and we said no way in town, so I guess, we should be thankful it is a mutt.
We are having a new air conditioner put in the house tomorrow, so I am going to try to stay in my sewing room tomorrow and get caught up on sewing. I am hoping to get some of my pumpkins made this weekend. I had been working on Santa's, but now it is time to get some scarecrows and pumpkins made for the fall shows.

My friend Becky from Orlando, Fl. just sent me this, I wanted to share this with you all:

God Saw you hungry & created Subway, Chocolate, and Crab Legs.

He saw you thirsty & created Coke, Juice, & Coffee

GOD saw you in the dark & created Light.

GOD saw you without a Good looking , adorable,Friend ........ So He created ME