May Birthday Cards...

Even though I haven't had much time for crafting lately, I whipped up a few birthday cards over the weekend for some upcoming birthdays. Our family has a LOT of birthdays during the month of May, so here are a few of the cards that I made:

 

 

This Thursday I'll be sharing a new feature with you, "A Scrapbook Page a Day During the Month of May", where each week day during May I'll be posting one of my scrapbook pages. (I won't post pages on Saturdays or Sundays...the normal "Silly Saturday" and "Quote Sunday" posts will still be featured on those days.) Be sure to check back on Thursday and Friday this week to see the first two pages that I'll be sharing with you.

Thanks for dropping by today!

Blessings,

A Fun Little Cross-Stitched Project...

Good morning! With the weather being so nice, any spare time that I've had in the evenings after work, and on the weekends, has been spent outside working in my flower beds. Sadly, I've gotten behind in my laundry and housework, so I'm using the old adage "housework makes you ugly" as my excuse - ha! ha! I even cross-stitched a little picture with that saying a few years ago, so thought I'd share it with you today:

Since Mike and I are now empty-nesters, our house doesn't get very dirty and our loads of laundry are substantially smaller. I don't feel too bad about just spot cleaning for now so that I can spend as much time as possible enjoying the great outdoors!

Have a SUPER week! I hope the weather is as beautiful where you are is it is here in Oklahoma!

Blessings,

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Wishing you a fun and relaxing weekend!

Happy Easter Weekend!

 

Happy Easter, friends!

Blessings,

Softie Bunny Pattern and Tutorial

Hi, friends!! As I promised in Monday's post, here is the pattern and tutorial on how to make a cute, fleece softie bunny like the one that I made for my pal Jamie's granddaughter, Kastin:

I designed the pattern for this bunny to be printed on a standard sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. You can click on the pattern below to print it out: 

 

 

 

Once you've printed the pattern, select the fabric that you'd like to use. I chose two different fleece fabrics. Cut the pieces out, adding a 1/4" seam allowance:

Using a blanket stitch, attach the heart to the "tummy" of the bunny body:

Next you need to create the bunny tail by sewing a running stitch around the outside edge of the circle. Stuff the circle with fiberfill and gather the fabric around the fiberfill to form the tail. Firmly stitch the tail to the backside of the bunny body:

Using a blanket stitch, sew the tiny heart-shaped nose to the face of the bunny. Stitch a mouth too! Firmly stitch buttons for the eyes. If this bunny is being made for a small child, you can stitch felt circles for the eyes. If you do choose to use buttons, please be sure to stitch them FIRMLY to the fabric so that little fingers cannot pull them off and possibly choke on them!

Place the right sides together on the bunny ears, (I used a pink polka-dot fabric for the inside of the ears), and stitch the ears together leaving an opening at the ends that will attach to the bunny head. Carefully turn the ears so that the right sides of the fabric now show. Pin the ears to the bunny head and stitch them down:

Pin the bunny body front to the back, with the right sides of the fabric against each other. Carefully tuck the ears into the body so that you don't catch them in your sewing machine while you are stitching the body together. (This is actually the hardest part of making the bunny! I folded up the ears and tucked them against the face so that they didn't get caught up in the outer seams.) Sew around the body of the bunny, leaving an opening at the base, (feet area), to turn it right side out. Once you've turned the bunny, stuff it firmly with fiberfill and sew the bottom closed. Tie a pretty ribbon around the bunny's neck and you'll have a cute little critter that looks like this:

Now for the SUPER fun part of this project...giving it to a sweet little kiddo!! Here is a photo of me giving the bunny to Jamie's granddaughter, Kastin...isn't she just the CUUUUUTEST baby girl??? :)

Thanks for dropping by today...I hope that you enjoy this pattern and tutorial! This project is a great way to use up scraps of fleece that you may have in your fabric stash.

 

Wishing you a GREAT day, friends!

Just a Few Little Projects...

Happy Monday! My hubby, son and father-in-law were on their annual spring camping trip in the Kiamichi Mountains over the weekend, so I just enjoyed some quiet time piddlin' around the house. The weather was really nice on Saturday, so I spent more time working in my flower beds.

A while back while I was at a local antique store I came across an enamel tub from an old washing machine. It was only $10.00, so I hauled it home knowing that I could turn it into a planter for my backyard. My hubs had doubts that I could actually turn it into something that looked good, but I'm REALLY pleased at how it turned out:

When sweetie got home from his camping trip, he was pleasantly surprised at how great this trash-to-treasure project turned out! I decided that an "I told ya so" was in order for him - ha! ;)

Now on to a project that I made for my sweet friend Sarah E., who moved into a new home last week. I think front doors should be adorned with a pretty, seasonal wreath, so I made this lovely for her:

I love making wreaths...it's amazing how nice they can make a front porch look!

Last but not least, I want to send a VERY happy birthday shout-out to my dear friend Linda H., who will celebrate a birthday tomorrow! I made this card for her and will pop it in the mail this morning:

Be sure to drop back by my blog in a couple of days. I'll be sharing a pattern and tutorial for a quick and cute Easter project that is perfect to tuck into the Easter basket of your favorite little one!

Have a happy day!

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Have a SUPER weekend, friends!!

It's Spring and My Fancy Has Turned to Flowers!

Good morning! I haven't done too much crafting because I've been digging in the dirt! With the beautiful sun shining and warmer temps, my attention has turned to working on my flower beds. In my front flower beds I've got daffodils blooming:

My sweetie planted another apple tree for me in our back yard to cross-pollinate with the one that he planted last year...can't wait until I can start harvesting apples from my very own trees!

In my spare time, (usually on the weekend or after work), I'll stop by Lowe's to pick up a few more flowers and plants to add to my beds and planters. Here's a pic of some of my "gardening loot" after a recent trip to Lowe's:

My father-in-law, who does wood-working as a hobby, made this terrific cedar picket fence planter for me. I filled the top of it with ivy and geraniums; adding some fun doo-dads on the bottom shelf:

Lastly, I added some fun garden art to an area right off of my patio. I bought the old water pump at a local antique shop; along with the pail and shovel. (The bird house is a great find that I picked up at Affair of the Heart; and I scored the old wagon wheel at the Tulsa Flea Market.) I planted white wave petunias in the pail to give the effect of water spilling out of it. I really love how this little arrangement turned out!

I've got more garden projects in the works, so check back soon to see what else I've been up to!

Thanks so much for dropping by today! I hope that the weather is sunny and warm in your area...if so, get outside and plant something pretty! :)

Blessings,

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Have a nice, relaxing weekend!