Has it been over a month already?

So much for my idea of doing weekly updates - LOL!

And I have so much to share too. :)

One really exciting thing, I got a Round Robin back!! It's Chatelaine's Sampler Mystery I. Now all I have left to do is the beads.



It's stunning! And it'll be even more so when it's completely finished!! Now, the only thing I have to do is find the rest of the kit! ROFLOL Thanks SO much to everyone who stitched on this: Laura, Jodi, Dot, Veronica, Juli, Jennifer and especially Ming and Leigh who weren't even in the round but offered to stitch on it anyway. All of their initials are on either side of the house and my initials will go under the house when I'm finished. I will truly treasure this!








Speaking of mystery samplers, here is my progress on the Papillon Creations Mystery Sampler - I'm still keeping up, believe it or not! And I'm still loving it! The next part will be released in mid September. I can't wait!










And I have my scavenger hunt package to share!! We did a scavenger hunt in my Yahoo group and it was SO much fun!! I received from Jodi and she sent me a great package. She even started a sampler that I can use for a RR - I might make it into a "Scavenger Hunt" sampler and pick certain motif types I'd like stitched :).

So, my words were Paris (fabric and Ina Garten note cards), Dragon (little green bead), Lilac (essential oil with fragrance pottery, stitched motif and beads), Peacock (stitched motif and charm), Swan (stitched motif), Chef (spreaders) and Hedgehog (pin). She also got me a crochet hedgehog pattern from Etsy. I can't wait to try making him - he's too cute!!

My package was just received by Juli, but I'll show the pics next time - we're playing a game with people trying to guess the words :)

I am working on some other things, but I haven't taken pics yet - I figured if I had to wait until I got those pics taken, it might be another month!!

I'm up and running with my Bead Retreat business and I'm LOVING it!! It's definitely keeping me busy, and cutting into my stitching time, but it's so much fun, I hardly notice! I even have a website - YAY!!

896 Stairs!!

Sunday we went to Bear Lake and drove up to Minnetonka Cave. It was the first time I'd ever been in a cave and I was pretty impressed. It was about a 90 minute guided tour and there were 448 stairs going up and down back through the 9 rooms, which meant 448 coming back out again too. The hardest stretch was "The Stairway to Heaven", which was 73 steps straight down, which of course meant that we had to go up them on the way out - LOL.





It was cool to hear what some of the different formations were called. This was in the "Dwarf Room" and the formations in the center are the 7 Dwarfs - can you see Grumpy's face at the left?










And this was the "Treasure Room" because it looks like a pile of coins.











When we got to the end, there was the "Bride and Groom" - the Bride is at the top and the Groom is at the bottom. As the decades pass, they grow closer to each other and someday they will connect.






At this point, the guide turned out the lights and we got to experience TOTAL darkness - kinda freaky! Then we had the option to walk back to the next room in the blackness holding on the hand rails, which was interesting, in an unnerving sort of way. LOL

I had a great time and now I'd really like to go to Timpanogos Cave. Maybe we could go in the fall when it's not so hot.





On another note, the ornament I made for the Christmas in July exchange has been received. I stitched for Ming, and although it's not a Christmas design, she was very pleased with it.



This is Iris Window Garden by Calico Crossroads. I stitched it on 40 count over two with the recommended threads and finished it as a pinkeep ornament. It was fun to watch it come to life as I added the black backstitching. I may have to stitch this again some time.

I'm still working on Part 6 of the Papillon Creations Mystery Sampler, and I hope to have it done before Part 7 is released in the next few days.

At The Hop!

Last week I went on a Quilt Shop Hop with some friends from my local stitching group. Even though I don't quilt (yet!), I had a great time and still managed to come away with some fun stuff! Here's a link to the site that shows all the shops in the hop. We went to 14 shops over 2 days, and I hit the 15th here in town on Saturday. If you complete your passport by visiting all the shops, your name goes into a drawing - and guess what? I won a $100 Gift Certificate to any of the shop in the hop! I was SOOOOO excited when I got the message. Now to decide which store and what to buy!



So, here's the stuff I bought over the two days. My favorite is this fantastic Zelda's Fancy Hat from Crabapple Hill Studio. At every store we went to, I was so drawn to this designer. I'm definately going to have to pick up more of her designs! I also got some wool appliqué stuff. One was a kit from Konfetti's called Hearts Journal Cover. The other is a book from Indigo Junction called Folk Art Jingle. I picked up wool kits for the Heart and Mistletoe ornaments. And I was actually able to find some yarn and knitting needles at two different stores. The yarn is Cascades Yarns Nikki which is made in Italy and hand spun. I got a scarf almost finished while we were driving around. The needles are really fun - they're Square Knitting Needles handmade form Forest Palm by Kollage Yarns. They're suppose to be less fatiguing to use, and hey, they were on sale too! I also got two leaflets for $1 each! Brightneedle The Lodge and Bent Creek Love. The last thing in the picture is a fat eighth I picked up for the back of an ornament for our Christmas in July exchange as well as a couple of fun old buttons. I actually bought three fat quarters too, but they somehow didn't make it into the picture. I think they're in with the witch's hat! LOL



In addition to all those quilt shops, we ran into a Provo Craft Outlet, where I hit the jackpot! I got 8 balls of yarn, 5 frames, 2 embroidery kits (with frames) and a bead book for under $25. I definately want to hit this store again!!









I've ready finished one of the kits and it's on my desk at work. I thought it was a great reminder! The frame had gaps in the corners, so I used my Stampin' Up Pretties Kit to cover them.

So, all in all it was a great trip and I'd love to go again next year!!





Now on to the Christmas in July Ornament Exchange. Saturday I got an ornament from Cheryl. It's from the cover of the current Just Cross Stitch issue and is designed by Country Cottage Needleworks, one of my favorite designers. Cheryl, knowing that I don't care much for blue, changed the colors to red and green and added the charms.



She also sent along a few extras - some Needlepaint and Carrie's threads, an ornament and two vintage reinstone buttons. Thanks for the lovely package Cheryl! I look forward to adding this ornament to my stitching tree this Christmas.









My ornament is on it's way to my partner, so I'll share a pic as soon as it's received.







And now for my "big news"! I am signing up to become an Independent Coordinator for Bead Retreat! I'm so excited!! The concept is fun and the jewelry is beautiful. I plan to have my business kit by the end of the month and I'll be off and running!!

I ordered myself two bracelet kits so I could see what they were like and I'm in love!! The first one is called Melange in Jet & Silver. I had enough beads left over that I was able to make matching earrings! And it goes with everything - I've been wearing all week!


And this is the bracelet I feel in love with as soon as I saw it on the cover of the catalog. It's called Family Tree in Green Quartz. My step-mom threatened to take it from me - LOL - she'll have to order her own! They are really SO pretty in person - I wish I could get a better picture of them!

I can't wait to get started!!

Some Progress!

Well, it took a few weeks, but I finally have some progress to show on my craft room - a very SMALL portion of my craft room, buy hey, progress is progress! LOL I started with the corner that has all my stamping stuff (mostly from Stampin' Up).

Here is the before...

And here is "after"!

The bottom shelf contains my cutter, card/stamp kits, punch sets, embellishments, pencils, pastels, crayons and my tool kit. The next shelf is obviously my stamps (I didn't realize how many I had!) and the next shelf is scissors, punches, more embellishments, inks and adhesives. They are in Sky-Rail storage boxes, which I bought for my stitching kits and had a few leftover.





The top shelf hold cards & envelopes, templates and patterned paper in more Sky-Rail boxes, and on top I have samples, more paper, stickers, and more cards & envelopes.












Here it is all closed up and neat. I've put large rolled up sheets of hand-made and imported paper in a planter in the corner (they were still in the plastic shopping bag before).







In the corner of my cutting table is a milk crate holding all the rest of my paper. And my greatest little organizational find! I got these tabs from eBay. They are printed on the color of card stock that is in the folder, which makes it really easy to find the right paper!








And since that was all done, I was actually able to make a card for my boss's wedding!



I got a chance to use a few things for the first time, including rub-ons, which I really liked!






I also made her a set of wine glass charms with some wedding charms Jodi sent me recently. They were really easy and fun to make.




And last weekend, I stitched Part 5 of the Papillion Creations mystery.







I hope to do a little more work in my craft room this next week. I still have a long way to go, but at least I'm moving in the right direction!

Another Long Update

OK, So I've finally taken pics of the stitching I've done over the last several months.


Hopefully I remembered everything!! First up is parts 3 & 4 of the Papillon Creations 2008 Mystery Sampler. I'm so proud of myself for keeping up with this!! Of course, it's so much fun to stitch that I'm not having a problem with that! LOL I've been dropping everything to start on it as soon as I hear a new part is out! Hopefully Part 5 will be out soon :)




I have two more ornaments stitched from the ornie RR I was in - JBW Designs French Country Reindeer stitched over one, which was Jennifer's choice and Little by Little's Making Spirits Bright from one of the JCS Ornie issues. That one was sent from Nancy and is also stitched over one. I put the scissors in the picture so you could see how small they are :) And attached to the scissors is a tiny little pallet made by Jodi's Dad Max from Bloom Woodworks. Isn't is sweet?



Let's see, what else have I done? I finished stitching another one of the Little House Needleworks fruit kits - Peaches. The colors, as always are so much better in person. I now have 3 of the 12 finished!



And for the kit exchange I'm in, I finished stitching what Cheryl sent - All You Need Is Love by The Drawn Thread. It's her latest freebie and was a lot of fun to stitch! Unfortunately, you can't tell in the picture that the fabric is a really pretty pink hand-dyed, and the Gloriana silks are just scrumptious! It's too cloudy today to get really good pics.


I finished my choice for the kit exchange and I love how it looks!!! This is The Victoria Sampler's Jazz Tuffet freebie. I chose not to put a button in the middle because I didn't want to cover up the blackwork in the center, so I just stitched over the stitches to tuft it after it was stuffed. On the back is just a small "x". Now to get the fabric cut and the kits mailed to everyone - sorry about the delay!!

I think that just about covers what I've been working on, except my WIPs - LOL.

I've made a decision to get my craft room cleaned and organized once and for all!! I'm posting "before" pictures and I'll post "during" and "after" pictures as well - hopefully this will keep me motivated to actually finish this project and keep it that way :) So, at the risk of embarrassing myself by showing all of you my disaster area of a craft room, here it is....





My cutting table piled high, including a kitty bed - LOL - and Stampin' Up orders I've received still in their bags piled in front.












One of my bookcases that holds stitching magazines, charts and books and one of my sewing tables piled even higher than the cutting table!












See, I told you it was piled high - and look at all that stuff on the floor!















And on this side of the room, my second sewing table is missing - DH took it to use as a work bench until we could afford to get him one - I'm hoping to get it back soon :) And look, a kitty got in the picture - LOL - that's Isabella, my Dad's kitty (so I guess she's my sister) and I'm taking care of her for three weeks while Dad and my step mom are on a trip.








And another set of bookcases with sewing/craft books, picture albums my yarn stash and other assorted stuff - and look, more piles on the floor! A few weeks ago, quite a bit of that yarn was actually in bags on the floor too - so I HAVE been trying - LOL.





And here's my open closet where all my fabric, threads and other random craft stuff is stashed. And my paper crafting cabinet halfway organized. I missed taking a pic of the built-in shelves where my kits are stored, but that is pretty well organized already, so I'll catch that another time.

So, that is my mess. Anyone else want to join me in an "Organize Your Stash" challenge? Hopefully I'm not the only one so unorganized, and hopefully these pictures and talking about the process will help me follow through :)



On another note, DH wanted me to post this picture on my blog. he LOVES pizza, and has been disappointed in what we can get around here, so I've started making them. On the weekends I'll make a batch of dough and then we can have pizza twice during the week. It's really good, if I do say so myself! LOL

LONG Overdue Update!!

I don't know what my problem has been lately - I've had the best of intentions to post, and I just never seem to get around to it.

I have to go back to February, and the lovely presents I got for my birthday from Ming for the 1:1 Birthday Exchange in my Yahoo group. Ming was actually able to give this to me in person while we were in Las Vegas.



She made me the most wonderful tote bag with this fantastic Paris Cats fabric. For some reason, I love pink and brown together right now - I think I need to get an outfit to go with this bag - LOL








The center panel is French Country Cat by JBW Designs.










It was filled with TONS of goodies! Ming said she was trying to touch on each of my crafting interests - and she did a great job :)










Not only did she make me the wonderful bag, but she stitched this great design from Little House Needleworks called Spot of Coffee. She finished it for a stand from Bloom Woodworks, and I just love it!! I have it displayed right by my stitching chair :)









Jodi also showed up in Vegas with a bag of birthday goodies for me (gotta love birthdays! LOL) Now I just need to find some projects to make with all this yarn ;)

Thanks again Jodi and Ming!!!

I've got pics from our Vegas Get Together in this Album. It was a great trip!! And a special thanks to Jodi and her DH for everything!!




At the beginning of February (we just keep going back further, don't we? LOL) I made this bracelet from a kit that Jodi sent me, and I gave it back to her - LOL. It was a lot of fun to make and I'd like to try to make some more (in other colors!).




Let's see, what else have I missed? We had a scissor and fob exchange in March. I sent these Santa scissors that I picked up in Vegas to Jen along with a fob I stitched using part of a chart from Prairie Schooler called Redwork Santas.






Kathy sent to me, and she made me a beautiful over-one Just Nan design and made it into a wee little biscornu and attached pink scissors. I love it!! This was such a fun exchange - I'm such a sucker for scissors!! LOL Hopefully, we'll do it again next year.






And I had Kathy for the 1:1 Birthday Exchange, and her birthday was in April. I stitched her a Drawn Thread design from her with list - Hana's Little Spot. It's such a cute design - I love the boarder. I'll have to stitch it again for myself someday - LOL.



Also in the package of goodies I sent Kathy was a pack of cards I made at my last stamp group. Inside the little box is 4 cards with different sentiments on the outside and blank on the inside. I really enjoy making cards - I wish I could get organized enough to do it more than just once a month when my group meets!




OK, now for a little bit of what I've been working on for myself - LOL. When I framed Kathy's piece, I went ahead and framed the DT class piece I stitched at the Stitchin' Station Retreat last August.




And I stitched (and framed!!) another one of the Little House Needleworks Fruit Thread Packs designs - Cherries. Eventually, I'd like to stitch all of them.



We're also doing a small kit exchange in my group, and I picked Victoria Sampler's latest freebie Jazz Tuffet. I swapped to the material for what I had on-hand, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

I've done more, but I don't have pictures yet. I'm making a promise to myself to take pics of the rest of what I've been working on and hopefully post it soon. I've GOT to do better than once a month! LOL

Happy Easter!

I know it's been a while since I've posted an entry, but it's been a crazy month! I figured I'd jump back in tonight and then try to catch up with older stuff over the next week or so.

This morning, I came downstairs to put the ham in the oven, and found this on the kitchen island - the Easter Bunny had been here! LOL
Isn't he sweet?! He brought me a TON of Reese's candy, including a "Reester" Bunny - LOL - and some more "grownup" chocolate in the form of Hershey Special Dark - YUM. And front and center is a Rescue Pets My e-pet Husky - isn't she cute? I asked DH if he picked her because he likes Huskies, and he said it was because she looked most like a kitty - LOL. He DOES like Huskies though - maybe someday we'll get a couple, but for now, we'll stick with the kitties :).

I made a WONDERFUL ham today - it's a recipe from Good Eats that I've wanted to try since I first saw it. It was delicious - and now I have a beautiful ham bone to make soup with!!



I did find some time yesterday to decorate my Easter Tree - the lights on the bottom are out and I need to figure out how to fix them, but otherwise I think it looks quite pretty. I use to put pastel organdy ribbon garland on it, but Odette, the "ribbon eating cat" makes that not a good idea any more - LOL

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter!