Crappy Crafters Paradise!

The other day I was blog surfing.
I don't know HOW I did it but I ended up HERE.
I fell out of my chair over THIS POST .
I was so relieved to see someone else has crafty failures! Like THIS ONE.
And they are SO FUNNY!
Quite frankly, I never really thought about how FUNNY it would be to blog about crafty failures.

So.......if you all need a good look at some crafting attempts gone WRONG please visit them. ALL of them are funny....check out these cupcakes! HA!
I giggled, I laughed, I even ho-hoed (yes, I do...I'm an original.)

Anyway, if you need a good laugh, I strongly recommend this site. In today's economy, consider it cheap entertainment!
Plus, it will make you feel good to know that sometimes everyone's craft can go "craptastically" wrong.

Crafting hope...

Monday I joined crafthope's latest project....making baby items (my all time FAVORITE thing to make!)

Crafthope is sort of like the Toy Society...but different in that we are making a joint effort and mailing all items to a central location to be distributed to children in need.

It always makes me feel better to do something for someone else! Won't you join me?

A Father's Day weekend

This past weekend was a busy one! We had company from Texas and enjoyed catching up with them.

We hadn't seen them in 3 years so we talked and talked and talked.
Of course, the girls giggled and giggled and giggled....



while the boys talked all night long and played video games...


It was so wonderful to catch up and even better to see how happy the kids were together.
Even after 3 years, they just fell in together like peas and carrots. It broke my heart knowing they lived so far away.

It was REALLY hard to see them go.

We were all a little pookey after they pulled out so in order to inject a little life back into the party, we pulled out Dean's Father's Day goodies!

Another LSU t shirt? OF COURSE!

a favorite movie.....Dean is such a BOND guy!



even the dogs got into the spirit of it by helping with the tissue. You ought to SEE the floor Christmas morning!


We all hung out, watched movies and happily relinquished the remote.
Dean had bought some much needed computer goodies so he played with the computer later that evening...well into the wee hours of the morning!

I made a call to my dear sweet dad to wish him a Happy Father's Day too..which made the day complete.
Happy Father's Day!

"Meet the WHO?"

Remember that very funny movie...."Meet The Parents?"


remember the sequel?

Imagine the scolding I got from my 11 year old daughter when she came across this movie last week while looking for "Happy Feet." She was VERY indignant as she fussed at me...

I guess it's a GOOD THING she didn't know the proper spelling of a particular word.....yeah......

giggles.......

Years ago, I was taking our kids to do errands. Curly Girl was 4 and Ripstick Boy was 5.
They were in their car seats in the back playing and having a conversation. They were playing with Beanie Baby birds.

Curly Girl.....with her bird...."peck,peck, peck" at Ripstick Boy's bird.

Ripstick Boy...with his bird..."peck, peck, peck" at Curly Girls bird.

This went on for about 5 minutes.

Then RB said "my bird can peck your bird better than your bird can peck mine."

Then CG said " nu-uh, it can't."

Then RB said "yes, it can, mine has a bigger pecker."

My mind automatically went into the gutter.
I was giggling uncontrollably. I almost drove off the road.
Both kids stopped playing and asked me what was so funny.

I love those memories

Good mail

Last week I posted about the brown paper bag swap I was in.
Yesterday, the goodies Tammy made me arrived!
It was sooo neat to see what she came up with.

She made a beautiful mini album/journal...so neat. Each bag is folded in half and has a little tab in it. I took a few photos of it like that but they didn't come out.
Then she made a gorgeous altered journal....much too pretty for grocery lists. Oh! the little tin and paint can are decorated too!
I didn't have the courage to send chocolate this summer but SHE DID! I got my favorite...plain m and ms.....yum!
Then she sent an assortment of little bits of rickrack and buttons and fun stuff for my craft room.

Thank you Tammy!

Quick trip!

On Friday, we took a quick trip to Florida to see my family.

My Aunt Betty was coming to see my mom and brought along 2 of our cousins.

I was SO EXCITED! Having been out of the area for the last 8 years, I haven't seen them in TOO LONG!

While some folks ran to the beach, the kids wanted to stay close by and go to the pool instead....



Then we visited, played card games, ate......






.....and celebrated Kelly's birthday! She was totally surprised!
I made her an apron...of course!




Oh.....and some of us slept!


and one little love pig soaked up a lot of attention...


what a life.....


We had a great time and all promised to not let so much time pass between visits!

Moreshrooms.......

Don't hate me for another mushroom post.....I thought I got it out of my system back in May. (I had people actually tell me they were worried about me.)
Maybe next May I'll have "Margarita Mayhem" instead?
I bet more people are into margaritas than mushrooms. Of course, its all relative.

But I digress.....

Yesterday I was at Target and I found these cuties.
Of course, I had to get all 3 for ME. I'm so bad. Well, not really.....they were cheap! I got the whole lot for under 10 bucks.

Don't they look cute?! You can't tell from the photo but they are quite small...and the plate is melamine. I planned on using it in a mosaic one day as the focal point but now I'm not so sure.




And speaking of new shrooms.....I forgot to post this CUTIE that my sister brought me over Easter when they came to visit! It is SO stinking cute!

here it is happy in some oregano....


And here is what STARTED my whole obsession. My mother brought this back from Italy when we lived in Germany...yes, it is seriously OLD....but look how sweet! She gave it to me a couple years ago...I LOVE IT!

She gave my sister one that is much larger.
I've yet to devise a scheme to get it out of her house...
but one day........

Pet cozies

Doesn't Leo look cozy?
As in happy and content?
He is giving one of our new pet cozies a 'trial run.'


It all started after I read THIS post on Lori's blog... my daughter and I took a gift package to our local pet shelter but wanted to do more.
Then I read THIS post from Kelly.

I told my daughter about the pet cozies and we agreed that this would be a great 'pet project' for the summer and decided to make 1 cozy a week and donate them at the end of the summer.

Here are the first 2 that she and a friend made...so we are off to a good start.

Now don't they look cozy?

What to do with a Brown Paper Bag

I participated in Sherry's BPB swap this year as a challenge to myself.
I don't scrapbook or do many paper crafts so I had to put my thinking cap on.

Here is what I came up with for Tammy:

A set of ladybird cupcake toppers made from a Fresh Market bpb.
I loved the green all over the bag.
These were actually a BEAR to make because the ink kept being absorbed by the bpb.
So I went through 2 sets before I finally made some worth keeping.



I included a blank book and covered it with one of those book covers we used to make in school for our textbooks.
It looks SO much better than the ones you buy your kids now...and its free!

I remember doodling on them for HOURS when I should have been listening to the teacher!
Also, a little tiny quote book on art and creativity....and a bookmark.



The 'big' gift was a bpb nest and bird ornament for Christmas...or whenever.
The nest was interesting to make and a fun challenge since I didn't have a regular paper shredder! Mine is criss cross type so I used a paper cutter instead!

Here is the birdie on a tree limb....




Last but not least, for fun I tried making one of those bpb toadstools I blogged about from the 'spore' project.
It was SUPER easy and cute....see?
I am so glad I joined Sherry's swap. It was great to stretch my imagination a bit.

Tammy got her package yesterday and says she likes everything which is quite a relief.

Zoo day...and a little toy drop

Saturday we went to the Zoo and we had the BEST time! Ripstick Boy had been awarded a free membership due to good grades so it was basically 'his treat.' He was very proud of himself and we were too!

Right away we ran to the Reptile House and did a Toy Society drop. We haven't "dropped" in New Orleans yet so we thought it appropriate to do one here.





We really enjoyed the day and took WAY too many photos to share. But here are a few:

at the main entrance...


gimme the carrot...oh please!



Hey Baby, how YOU doin?



I got somthin in my hand and YOU can't see it.....

Hmmm....should I chew it NOW or save it for later?



We also got to see a special anamatronic exhibit.....can you guess what it was? They set it up in the old aviary building with fog and misters and low lights....then you walked outside where these really large ones were. All of the dinosaurs were life sized....VERY NEAT!


Afterwards, we went to one of our FAVORITE places to eat....Superior Grill!

Update 6/9: "Lily" the snake has been adopted....read about it here.

Just a handful....

Look at these lovelies!

We have this little bowl and we fill it up twice a day from our tomato plant.

The large plants haven't started bearing fruit yet...but these little ones started bearing fruit early May.

They are perfect with our salads and for snacking.

We have to pick them right before they ripen or the dog will get them.

Yes, that's right.......not the birds.....the dog.

As in ONE dog...as in Ginger!

She not only eats the tomatoes but cleaned off our bell peppers too! We got two...she got something like 10! (All you dog lovers don't fret, she doesn't eat the leaves.)
But she LOVES her veggies! She is so naughty too....just watches you as you pluck them off the plant. I dropped one the other day and she beat me to it! HA!

Next year when our real garden is set, it won't be an issue because she won't be able to go harvesting.

Nancy Drew

I participated in Lori's latest swap...a Nancy Drew Mystery Swap.
I was a huge Nancy Drew AND Hardy Boys fan when I was younger. Maybe that is why I still love a good mystery novel!

The idea behind the swap was to read a ND mystery and make a package around the theme of the book. I also wanted to take into consideration anything my partner was interested in.

Here is what I came up with for her:

I said a long lost paper of Nancy Drew's had been found in a box from the novel I just read. The paper was a tip list on entertaining. Apparently, Nancy loves to throw parties after a mystery has been solved!

I included the 'TIP' list that Nancy had misplaced during the "Case of the Crumbling Wall." It looks very old, indeed!



On the things in the list I wrote "Nancy says".....poking fun because Nancy says A LOT in her mysteries! For these wine charms, I used elements found in the book I read.



Amanda said she would love an apron....and I was happy to make her one! There isn't much Nancy Drew fabric online and the one I did find Amanda had already used to make something with.
So I opted do to an applique instead.
You can't tell from the photo, but the fabric is very cute, with different travel destinations all over it. Appropriate? YES!
The question mark is on a working pocket.....you never know what you might find in Nancy's pockets!





The rest of the loot:
I also included several strands of pearls because Nancy is always dressed appropriately. I'm sure anyone attending her party will need a strand to complete their outfit.
Cupcake liners, toppers and recipe. Lemon, of course...Nancy loves lemon.
A fun Nancy Drew recipe I found on youtube....go look it up...very funny. (from 30Rock)
A dish cloth Hannah might use (Nancy's housekeeper)
And some cocktail napkins Mr. Drew would approve of.




Now on to my goodies from Amanda...a couple guest towels, some twisted candles (the mystery she read was about twisted candles), a magazine and some totally ADORABLE owl fabric.....thanks Amanda!