Giving Thanks for…

life. Jesus Christ. grace and mercy. adam. addie. topher. creativity. music. dogwood blossoms. mom and dad. my health. the freedom to worship. paved streets and running water. our church family. susan and sarah. my sewing machine. satsuma trees. friends that get me. friends that don’t get me and love me anyway. the creativity of my children. facebook (sad, but true). my in-laws. an incredible elementary school with teachers who love my child. nita. rose bushes that bloom in the fall. a favorite football team (win or lose, though winning is great). jane. ashley and ashley. my Bible. encouraging phone calls from friends and family. good books. teaching sewing. a full pantry. brainstorms. hot coffee. cars that run. teaching swimming. a safe home. BG’s reading ability and LM beginning to sound out words (such precious sounds). little jobs that mean i don’t have to get a real one. random funny text messages. creative aunts and witty uncles. the generosity of others. the wisdom of a few. a cup of tea. sock puppet shows and silly stories. doc. rex. coupons. past opportunities to grow. lsmsa. obu. friends and family who have died but left me with lessons and wisdom and memories. this blog and all my blogging friends who leave comments. second chances. jokes that really make me lol. rainy days. sunshine. hand-me downs. snuggles with my children. popcorn and movies. quiet moments to stop and reflect. crazy moments when Christ calms me. sad moments when Christ lifts me up. struggling moments when Christ carries me.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:4-5

A little scrap busting

***DISCLAIMER***

By proceeding herewith, Reader assumes all responsibility to feign surprise on Christmas morning and hereby agrees to gush/oohhh/aahh in total astonishment with the following gift upon opening.

Look at these cuties! 

I can think of a family member or two who sews. 

They might need one for Christmas.

Aren’t they fun!

I used a few more scraps on these towels too!  This idea comes from Pleasant Home.

They’ll be a little gift for my Thanksgiving guests. 

Shhh.  Don’t tell them.

Reader, Beware!

If there is any possibility that you might be receiving a Christmas/birthday/Swap gift from me, you might see your gift posted on this blog. 

As a blogger, I love to post my projects and I love to post my ideas, just like I love to look at others’ projects and steal borrow learn from their ideas.  So with the Holiday season here, I will be sharing.  Lots. 

For that reason, the following will be posted at the top of each and every post involving gifts.

***DISCLAIMER***

By proceeding herewith, Reader assumes all responsibilty to feign surprise on Christmas morning and hereby agrees to gush/oohhh/aahh in total astonishment with the following gift upon opening.

 

Consider yourselves warned!

The “little kids”

In my pictures yesterday, I showed you my Big Girl and her buddy making wreaths.  What I didn’t show you were LM and his Best Buddette.  They made foamie picture frame ornaments while we were busy crafting.  Here’s their picture from the day.  Don’t let those sweet innocent expressions fool you…

Our Wreath Decorating Party

I was privileged to host a “Safe and Bright House Party” for UL. 

U-what, you ask?  Well, stop now and look for a tag on the cord of your nearest electrical device.  See that U and L in the circle.  That’s the logo for UL--Underwriters Laboratory.  These are the safety folks.  And, they sent me a party package complete with supplies to host a wreath decorating party.

Of course I fixed a light afternoon snack:

Then we played a round of white elephant where my guests bartered, begged and stole decorations from one another—after they each read a UL safety tip to us. 

And the decorating began:

  

Aren’t these wreaths great!

Thank you UL!

Because…

…it was on sale for $3.99 and

…I absolutely love the big collar and

…I love, love, love the way the collar can wrap around for another look and

…it looked warm and cozy and

…I need something to wear over dresses about 3 Sundays a year and

…because fleece was 50% off at Hancocks

I made this:

Oh wait! You wanted to see my version. Well, if you insist…

but first, let me tell you that I don’t know if I love it or not. Why?

For starters, it’s ginormous!!!!! Yes, that’s a technical term. I guess I should have known it would be when it called for 4 (yep, you read that right!) yards of fabric.

I did love that it was simple to put together and no hemming! The edges are finished with your serger.

But, have you ever tried to cut a pattern out of 4 yards of fleece? Did I mention you have to cut it from a flat piece. That means you have a piece of fabric 72 inches by 144 inches to spread out to cut. That’s my whole living room carpet!!!

I didn’t read the instructions and the jacket went together really easily.

And, before I forget, if you are new to sewing with fleece, check out this post.

Here’s the collar (the reason I bought the pattern):

And a few full pictures:

Join me...

This one is for Jessica and Adriane and anyone else with a machine that doesn't sew as often as they'd like!

Doesn't this look like fun?

And 8 gifts for under $20! A girl's gotta love that!

So, I raided my stash and hit up HL for 9 great fabrics:

Anybody guess my theme???

All I want for Christmas…

(or wanted for Christmas) were tickets to a New Orleans Saints game in the Super Dome.  Well, life happens: my hubby’s schedule is nuts, my sisters and parents are busy people, and—of all things!—the Saints were off to their best start ever making the demand for tickets sky high!  So on Wednesday, Daddy gently informed me that this Christmas wish just wouldn’t happen this year.  But a girl should never give up hope!

Then, on Friday, out of the blue, my baby sister “found” some tickets.  For this weekend’s Saints vs. Panthers game.  Like in just over 48 hours.  Could I get to New Orleans for Sunday at 3?  Uhm, Yeah! (Never mind that NO is a 5 hour drive at it’s quickest, my hubby didn’t get off work until 8:30 Saturday night, and I had a presentation at 9 AM Monday morning!  We’d figure that out later. Ha.)

For the next 2 days, I floated bounced flitted barely made it through everything we had to do:  homework, a swim meet, grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, etc.  Then finally, after sweet talking a supervisor, my hubby got off work an hour early and we hit the road to NO at 7:30 Saturday night.  We swung by my sister’s in Lafayette, grabbed the tickets and then hit my other sister’s in New Orleans around 2 in the morning Sunday morning! 

The entire experience was almost indescribable.  The crowds were nuts.  The fans were diehard.  The traffic was intense. The game was a nail biter. The Drew Brees-Pierre Thomas combination was on fire.  The defense was tough on Jake Delhomme.  The Saints were awesome.  And the Dome was rocking!  The best part:  one of my dearest friends and her family were one section over, Bobby Hebert’s autograph, the tailgating, 30-20 win over Carolina, the way the floor vibrated when every fan in the place chanted “Who Dat!” as the Saints went 8-0 for the first time EVER!!

Enjoy the game through my camera lens!

The Tickets:The Fans:The Tailgating:The Crowds:Bobby Hebert (Did I mention I’ve been a fan a LONG time!):Becca, Me and Jane:  The Crowd: The Offense.  Some Shockey, some Bush, some Colston and a lot of Brees and Thomas:The Defense that rocked the second half! Us:The sidelines: The Final Score.  8-0! The Dome: 

Who Dat!

 

I was going to sew this weekend…

And then my sister called and offered me a chance to do this: 

More pictures tomorrow when I’ve caught up on my sleep!

Simplicity 2568-Easy, Trendy, and Short!

Simplicity 2568- A Sew Stylish pattern for Misses’/Miss Petite Pants and Dress or Top with Neckline Variations.

I picked up this pattern at a 99 cent sale because I loved the top and pants of View C. After looking at my fabric stash, I decided to make View A. But—since I didn’t like the pockets so much, I used the tabs off View C. I further modified the pattern by omitting the zipper, hemming the neckline instead of using facings, and lengthening the hem. I used a purple boucle out of my stash. I used purple thread, but there is A. LOT. of topstitching on this dress that would have looked cute in a contrasting color (or silver). I found my round buckles at the local Hancock’s. I can’t comment to the quality of the instructions, because I didn’t follow them. Because this fabric frays so badly, I serged all my seam allowances. You can see a picture of the inside below. (Yes, I used pink thread. Why? Two reasons: 1)I was too lazy to change and 2)I kinda like something sassy on the inside.)

I have the habit of making a pattern up 2 or 3 times before moving on to something new. This one is pretty trendy, so I don’t know if I’ll do it again or not. If I do, I’ll use just the top, probably with the higher neck and maybe with the sleeves. My bigger concern right now: booties or knee boots???

Front:

Close-up of Tabs and Buckles:

Inside (just to show that the inside looks just as nice as the outside):