Whoot Whoot!!!

I am pretty proud of myself so far!!! I worked on assigning partners last night and the night before.. I stayed up way past my Awe Baby time and got the emails done so I could send them out right away. I had 4 wonderful women sign up the last min. That would not have been so bad just pairing them together right??? Well....... LOL and I was confused. I got the same address for all of them :) I had to post and ask what in the world was going on. I have to tell you it threw me for a loop. I thought it was a prank from someone. It turns out they were all family and friends.. so I had to go and do some adjusting of my already assigned partners... so having said all of that I did make a few last min mistakes. I guess even checking them twice when your eyes are all wonky from no sleep .. the mistakes slip through. I want to thank everyone that has contacted me and that will contact me :) I will try to iron out the mistakes as soon as possible. I had several people sign up for both swaps which is fantastic!!! I can't wait to see the finished items :)

Here are the totals:

42 women for the Annie Swap = 21 sets

20 women for the up cycle apron swap = 10 sets

I have made 3 mistakes in my emails that I shipped out. That is so far to my knowledge.. pretty good if I say so myself.. not to say... knock on wood... there could be more Boo Boo emails later today :(

I want to send everyone a huge thank you for joining in on the fun of these two swaps.. I never dreamed the Annie Swap would get so much attention and interest. I just might have to offer this as another swap again down the road :) I knew my Up-cycle apron swap would get several takers. Yeah for going green!!!

So ladies having all of this in mind please please get your aprons and Annie's out on time, because there is a lot for me to keep track of :)

On my final note... It appears that Annie is going to be a bit of a challenge for a lot of you... I had only a smattering of Angels sign for this swap.. so it is very important that we all complete our obligation on this swap. As I don't know if I am up to the challenge of making several Annie's .. if swappers don't follow through. Having said all of that... thank you for letting me remind all of you to get your items done and mailed out on time.. and happy stitching and no ripping ....

Final note.... be very careful of the seams on muslin..they rip out very easily if you stuff too hard.. also I have found a long pair of tweezers or forceps work wonderful for stuffing... lastly if you don't have those.. a shisk ca bob (sp) stick works good too :)

A Lesson in Hanging Toilet Paper

Next time you have to hang toilet paper, just remember this handy lesson. You don’t want to look like an idiot when company comes over:

LOL this just cracked me up when I saw it ... I hope it makes you laugh also.. I know I use to fuss about the paper being hung wrong all the time. Now I just fuss about it not being hung on the roller ;)

Martha's Home Grown Tomatoes

These whimsical sewing-box staples are just as sweet as garden-grown tomatoes, and you don't have to wait until summer to enjoy them. Pincushions were once set on mantels in new homes to bring occupants prosperity, and these versions, with their fresh-from-the-vine colors, would in fact look lovely on display. Stitch a robust heirloom variety in loosely woven linen or cherry tomatoes in dainty gingham. A few dollars will yield enough supplies for a bumper crop, no weeding required.
Pincushion How-To 1. Cut a rectangle of fabric on the bias that's twice as long as it is wide (the largest we made was 3 1/4 inches in diameter and required a 10-by-5-inch piece).With fabric facing right side up, fold in half as shown, and join ends with a 1/4-inch seam. Sew a running stitch around the top edge; tightly pull thread to cinch fabric, and secure with stitches.

2. Turn pouch right side out. Stuff with batting (cotton batting is firmer than polyester). Sew a running stitch around the open end; pull thread to cinch fabric. Tack shut with a few stitches and knot. To flatten, double-thread a cording needle with crochet thread and pull it through the "core" a few times. Mimic a tomato's fluted details by wrapping the thread around the cushion and back through the core several times. Knot thread at top to finish.

3. For heirloom tomatoes, cut a circle of fabric (the largest we made was 3 1/2 inches in diameter and required a 10-inch-diameter circle). With fabric wrong side up, sew a running stitch around perimeter. Place batting in center of fabric, and gather into a pouch. Stuff with more batting, pull thread to cinch, and tack with stitches. Flatten cushion and apply details as in step 2.

4. For tops, see finished photo below for top, enlarging or reducing as desired; cut out. Draw design onto green felt with a disappearing-ink pen; cut out. Using a single-threaded needle, sew a loop onto top. Glue top to tomato.
Note: To sew cherry-tomato pincushions, start with swatches of fabric that are 2 3/4 by 4 3/4 inches. Follow steps 1 and 2 below, but don't flatten cushion or add fluted details. For tops, cut symmetrical, six-pointed stars from green felt. Add loops, and attach them as in step 4.

Taken from Martha Stewarts Web Site ;)

Decorative Diffuser

Decorate your jar as desired-I used seam binding tied in a bow, a small tag and a charm
Place the liquid potpourri into your container-1/2 inch to an inch will do

Snip off the pointed end of the skewers
Place skewers into your container-flip the skewers every few days That’s it! Easy and inexpensive :)

You Will Need:
Glass Container(s) {jar, vase, glass, etc.}
bamboo Skewers {readily available for about $1 at discount stores and grocery stores-

Liquid Potpourri

Annabell wondered why she never fit in....

Poor Annabell was the black sheep of the family. All she wanted was to be like her brothers and sisters but Annabell was very different. She had a tendency to stick out like a sore thumb during everyday scavenging and wasn’t quite sure why.

I just love this joke!!!! I know the jokes old but I love it :)

The Perfect Husband
Several men are in the locker room of a golf club. A cell phone on a bench rings and a man engages the hands free speaker-function and begins to talk. Everyone else in the room stops to listen.
MAN: "Hello."
WOMAN: "Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?"
MAN: "Yes."
WOMAN: "I am at the mall now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $1,000. Is it OK if I buy it?"
MAN: "Sure, go ahead if you like it that much."
WOMAN: "I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the new 2010 models. I saw one I really liked."
MAN: "How much?"
WOMAN: "$90,000."
MAN: "OK, but for that price, I want it with all the options."
WOMAN: "Great! Oh, and one more thing .....the house I wanted last year is back on the market. They're asking $950,000."
MAN: "Well, then go ahead and give them an offer of $900,000. They will probably take it. If not, we can go the extra 50 thousand. It is really a pretty good price."
WOMAN: "OK. I'll see you later!I love you so much!!"
MAN: "Bye! I love you, too." The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him in astonishment, mouths agape..... Then he smiles and asks: "Anyone know who this phone belongs to?"

Peanut Butter-Finger Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

1 Cup ground Vanilla Wafers

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/4 Cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 Fun Size Butterfinger Candy Bars, crushed

1 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips

2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream

2 Fun Size Butterfinger, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place cookie crumbs, sugar, butter and salt into a bowl; mix to combine. Spoon mixture into bottoms of mini cheese cake pan or mini cupcake pan and press. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven.

2. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, beat cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in egg, cream and salt until well combined. Slowly stir in crushed peanut butter fingers. Evenly pour batter over baked crust. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Let cool for 2 hours, then remove from pan.

3. Melt chocolate chips in microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth. Stir in cream until smooth and glossy. If needed, return back to microwave for 15 seconds or so until smooth. Spoon over tops of cakes then sprinkle crushed butterfinger over top.

Surprise lunch :)

Today I was getting around so I could go to the post office when my phone rang. It was the Daddy-O and he wanted to go to lunch. So he told me to grab the Pitty, my mail and what ever else I needed to do as he wanted to spend some of the day with me. Aweeeeeeee wasn't that nice of him. So we went to the German Restaurant called the Bread Basket and had huge bowls of Soup and home made bread for lunch. As we sat and ate lunch dad told me about the latest project he was working on. He said he is going to make a Grandmothers Clock. He says they are smaller than a Grandfather Clock. He was telling me he want to make it out of Walnut as its grain is beautiful. He told me all about the Chimes that he has purchased for it. I asked him how long it would take to make this clock he said about a year. With all of the hand finishing work on it. I am excited to see it but I will just have to cool my Jets... Speaking of jets.... we went by the park to dropped off my latest toy for the society. My dad thought that was a lot of fun dropping off my little toy. He said it was very thoughtful of me to make the toys for the children. I have to admit I am really getting a kick out of making them and dropping them. :) I try to make two a month.. so later today .. I will make my second one. Now that I am caught up on all of my swaps!!! :) Yeah for me :)

Here is my little Rocket... I think it turned out sort of cute since it was a make it up as you go sort of toy :) I put streamers on it to make it look like flames ... like when the real rockets take off :)

I dropped it in Newton, Kansas a small town North of me where my brother lives... lets hope the City Police don't blow it up thinking its a bomb!!!! It was left at the Oker Berg Park.

Wow it looks like the Pitty needs to get out her paint brush for the deck this year. It seems like she has to help momma paint the surface every year out here in the country. It does get a lot of wind and rain and other stuff on it. More so than in the city at least that is what I think. No houses to help block some of the wind. The winds are never blocked out here :) So taking care of the deck is a never ending job here :)

But I do love my deck... as some of you have seen photos of it in prior posts :)

She's at it again!!!

Ha Captain Jack Sparrow... you got nothing on me!!!! I is the greatest black Beard Captain around. Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of Rum!!!