Saturday, April 28, 2012

More Miniatures

Miniatures, 
probably my most favorite thing to collect.
I never tire of looking at and searching for
miniatures.
In previous posts I talk about my dollhouse,
and how I have been collecting little things 
for over 40+ years.
The items for that dollhouse were being collected
while the place to put them in was
still a dream.
It is purely delightful that 
blog land is a treasure trove of sites, full of
miniature lovers.
We all share a similar interest.
 
 
I want to share with you
my latest find on Etsy.
(Oh man, do I love that site!)
This darling little piece of art comes from 
LugArt Petit found here.
These ladies also have a blog found here.


 In my photo I have tried to show you the scale size.
Take a good look at the white grapes,
don't they look just yummy enough to
plop one or two in your mouth?
The cheese is so fantastic, all of these things
 so sweetly placed on a little cutting board
that has a hand slot at the one end.
The ladies (Maria & Monica) who created this,
and many more miniature pieces,
 are from Barcelona Spain.  
I was very impressed with the care they took when 
shipping this to me. It was carefully wrapped
in a piece of bubble wrap which was placed in 
a sturdy small plastic container,
and then that was placed in a air bag envelope.


 They were right on the ball with a speedy delivery.
Here is a last shot of the cheese and grapes inside the 
lens cap of my camera. 
I am seriously thinking that when I do get to 
finishing off the inside of my dollhouse I will start
a new blog devoted especially for just that purpose.
So, from one miniature lover to another,
tell me about what your great finds have been.
It would be fun to compare notes and tips.
~*~
Have a great weekend!
~*~

 

Monday, April 23, 2012

Giveaway Winner

I had 9 people who wanted to be a part of my 
100th Follower Giveaway.
 
 
I put all the names in a pottery bowl that my 
youngest made in college.
 
 
And the winner is TA DA........


I thank everyone who participated in this giveaway.
Unfortunately only one person can win.
Maybe you will get lucky the next time,
so please come back again for future offers.
Congrats to Sherry.
~*~

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Miniature Bears


I can not let another day go by without showing you this.
Aren't these the cutest little handmade bears you have ever seen? 
I am always on the lookout for miniatures.
I have collected them for almost 42 years.
 I have a dollhouse here and you can see several
pics of it and the interior's present unfinished state.
My husband made my dollhouse from a kit I bought years ago at Hobby Lobby.
I have a big tote filled with everything one would need to 
furnish that house.
I happened upon an Etsy seller named Amy Nguyen and her shop is called Crafter's Delights and you can find her here
The wonderful thing about my happening to land there was she 
had these 3 bears and she had them all on sale for half price 
with a coupon. 
Now I could not pass this up, the bears are adorable and 
will look perfect on a bed or the nursery in the house.
Sweet Amy, she even sent me a little surprise, the Mother's Day 
Pendant that she makes using Scrabble tiles covered with resin.
I think presently she is just selling the pendants, 
but you can always check with her 
on whether she plans to make more bears if you are interested. 
Thank you Amy, I ♥ my bears!
~*~

 

Friday, April 20, 2012

Friday Baking and Giveaway Reminder

Earlier this week I pulled eight, 2 and 1/2 cup 
containers of shredded zucchini out of the deep freezer.
In the fridge they went and today I got busy.
I thought I had everything I needed for zucchini bread,
plenty of zucchini, flour, eggs, oil, sugar, nuts 
and all the spices.
WRONG!
Since I was making 8 batches I needed 2 dozen eggs,
24 cups of flour and a multitude of other things.
I was short 3 eggs, okay, so this bread would 
just be low cholesterol, we would manage.
Then I went to measure out my vegetable oil.
OOPS!
I was short! So I had some olive oil handy
and I have added that in baking before, it would work.
STILL SHORT!
 I found a new bottle of grape seed oil,
the bottle said it could be used in baking so I dumped 
the entire contents in the measuring cup.
STILL NOT ENOUGH!
Needed 2 more cups!
Now how could this be, I was so sure I had everything I needed!
So I run in here and google up peanut oil for baking, 
and yes, people do use it for baking and
so I grab the container and fill up the remainder of my 
measuring cup with the peanut oil.
In the back of my mind I am thinking all this work, and 4 different kinds of oils and will this bread even taste good? 
 Because of the sheer size of this multiple batch I don't use 
just any old mixing bowl, I use this and it weighs a ton.
I bought it, and the 2 smaller sister bowls, at a party years ago.
The woman who gave the party said this bowl is big enough to bath a baby in, and that is correct, it is that big.
And to give you an idea just how big it is I put a fork
up against it. It is heavy to lift and a monster to hand wash 
because it is too big and too heavy for the dishwasher.
 It took 2 hours of measuring, sifting and mixing. A batch of bread takes 50 minutes to bake at 350 degrees, 
but because I loaded the bread pans with dough
and put 4 pans in the oven it took an extra 40 minutes.
I filled up 2 big muffin pans and a 9x13 pan as well.
After everything cooled I grabbed a muffin and gave it a taste test.
 YUMMY!
Despite the 3 missing eggs and my using a mix of
vegetable, olive, grape seed and peanut oil the recipe 
is a hit again. I have had this recipe since the early 70's and 
it is a family favorite. I believe I read somewhere if you want to use less oil you can substitute applesauce? 
That would have been my last resort.
I will give a couple loaves to family and some muffins to friends. The rest will be wrapped and into the freezer.
It is always so nice to have something handy to have with coffee when company comes.
The house has smelled good all day.
And tomorrow I will frost this bread that I made into a cake. 
hummmm.
 ~*~
Anyone who still wants to get in on my 
100th Follower Giveaway still has until this 
Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 11:59pm EST.
Time is running short so go to my previous post for the 
details and comment on that post.
Also remember that more items are to be added to 
the 9 that I have pics of.
Hope you participate. Good Luck!
♥♥♥



Monday, April 16, 2012

100th Follower Giveaway

As promised I am having a GIVEAWAY to celebrate reaching 100 followers. I am offering up 9 items and plan to add a couple more. The 9 items are in the photos below. I have not decided yet what the other 2 things will be, so as usual I will keep you in suspense for the next week. The GIVEAWAY officially starts now and will end in 7 days on Sunday April 22 at 11:59pm EST. (I am in Ohio in the USA). 

1.) To win all you need to do is be a FOLLOWER of this blog and leave a comment on this post, that will get you one chance to win. 

2.) After doing #1 and if you mention my blog on your blog then I will enter your name again for a second chance.   

 The winner will be announced on Monday April 23. If you have a blog I will send you my email address and will need you to send your mailing address to me for package delivery. This giveaway is open to ALL of my followers. You do not have to live in the USA to win.

192 page hardback House of White Birches Book of 201 Craft Bazaar Best-Sellers
192 page hardback House of White Birches Big Book of $5.00 Crafts
112 pages soft cover Christmas Project Collection over 40 Holiday Crafts
New and unused Country Appliques 1996 pattern Old Bears.
New and unused The Little Quilt Collection patchwork quilt directions.
New and unused Country Appliques 1995 pattern Old Rabbits
Some of our homemade items from my craft shows.

                     ♥Good Luck and Happy Blogging. ♥
                                           

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Wide-Angle Lenses

Just a few lines here.
I really need to stop wanting things.
If I go into a store looking for a light fixture
you can bet your bottom dollar I will go straight to
the most expensive one they have.
Yeah, champagne taste and a beer pocket book.
Seems to be that way with everything
that I shop for.
The newest need want is a wide-angle lens
for my camera.
Have you ever priced them things?????
Now since I am not robbing a bank, and 
I am not related to Billy Gates or Donald Trump,
and I can't sell the ranch or offer up my first born,
I will have to keep my whits about me and 
save all my pennies.
Folks, it is gonna be a long time before I get that lens.
Oh what the heck, if I get one I would have 
to clean a bigger area of the house before 
snapping a pic.
Those wide-angle lenses just mean more work for me.
If I keep this up I will just talk myself out of getting one.
Light bulb moment.....
why am I thinking Rent-A-Center? 
~*~
 

Sunday, April 8, 2012

101 Followers, Definitely GIVEAWAY Time!

All I can say is WOW and THANK YOU
to everyone who is following me!
Overnight I went from 99 Followers 
to 101 and was I soooooo happy.
It has taken me over a year to get to that point.
So, to celebrate I think I need to have a Giveaway,
what do you think?
I am going to take the next 5 days to decide 
what to offer up.
You will need to keep an eye out for the next post
and it will appear sometime during this next weekend.
Until then, I hope you all had a safe and Happy Easter.
This weekend sure went fast.
Our next holiday is Memorial Day, right?
~*~
 

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Little Leaves :: Knitted Doll Sweater

Cool and chilly here in NW Ohio today.
The sun is shining though :)


I am on the home stretch with a small WIP,
a little knitted doll sweater that sat patiently waiting,
and waiting......just for me to get the DP knitting needles,
 in the size I needed to get the sleeves on. 
Now I just need to sew on the 3 buttons and it will be done.


The knitting needles are Takumi Bamboo.
This is my second time using bamboo, 
I also have a bamboo circular needle that I used last year and 
I loved it. You can buy them at Joann's,
they come from Japan.


This pattern is called Little Leaves and it can be found online.
It is an adaptation of Nikki Van de Car's Autumn Leaves by Marie Lafitte, and you can find it on Ravelry right HERE.
I wanted you to see the back of the sweater to give you a 
closer look at the pattern.


Here is a better look to see the leaves.
This pattern will fit a 32cm/13 inch doll.



I did go to Joann's for the knitting needles.
This time I was armed with my coupons.
Usually they are sitting at home on the kitchen table
as I am standing in line at the cash register having my
light bulb moment remembering I left my coupons at home.
(Ever been there and done that?)
I am so famous for that, but this time I stuck the flyer in my purse.
 I did some damage to the the ad pages.
The snippy young check out girl told me 
I should come back again (as if I hadn't just spent enough!).
I told her that was my problem, I come back too often.
"Oh yeah, well I have been here 2 years and I have never seen you,"
I asked her if she knew Sharon, she said yeah, 
I said, "So do I, she has been here forever and knows me well."
That kinda put a stop to her know-it-all-attitude.
She would just need to come see my sewing room  
(or call my husband, heaven forbid)
to know I frequent that store way too much.
I don't want to be a cranky old woman,
but I don't need smart allelic either, 
or to be made out to be a liar. 
In my younger days I would have been 
a tad more sarcastic to her,
but with age comes wisdom, patience and knowing 
that to have left there all puffed up wouldn't have ended 
either of our days on a high note.
Besides, I was thrilled at what I bought and nothing 
was going to end my day on a sour note if I could help it.


I did find a real bargain and the floor lamp was FREE
but you had to buy the table lamp which I DID need
for my sewing room. The light I have now on my desk
is a bit top-heavy and is not well suited 
for the shelf where it needs to sit.
There has always been an issue with it being a bit 
off balance and with it having a chain pull for the 
on and off it was never very stable.
The Ottlite is suppose to be better lighting and 
that is another plus.
Well, I am off for now, 
going to sew buttons on the little sweater.
~*~

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

My Space :: My Sewing/Craft Room

First off let me say I need a wide angle lens.
It became apparent when I attempted to 
photograph my sewing room.
Maybe I'm just not savvy enough
to use what I have to get the effect I want.
Anyways, this is the best I could do with what I have. 
*Keep in mind if you want a closer look at any 
of my pictures, all you need do is click on it.*
So, let's get started shall we.....

  
My sewing room is at the end of the hallway
of our ranch-style home.


The room is pink because it use to be
the bedroom of our oldest daughter Rachael.
Her favorite color, you guessed it,
was, and still is, pink.
When you enter the room you have to go
left a bit because when you walk in the door the wall to 
the closet is right there in front of you.
We will go around the room in a counter clockwise 
direction, skipping the closet on the right-hand side for now.


As you will see, I have a lot of stuff. 
Two sewing machines in fact, 
the one in the darker case is a Sears Kenmore (42 years old). 
That was the very first anniversary gift my husband bought me.
I had come home from work to find him playing around with it, 
all excited. I had no clue he was buying me that. 
I never asked for it. But then his mother was a sewer, 
and she sewed so much it was almost like she 
was joined to the hip with her machine.

Managing this small space is a challenge.
Keep in mind that this is a work in progress.
I started out with just the space on the floor of
our double closet in the master bedroom.


 My knowing where things are located is another challenge
because I rely heavily on plastic tote containers.
Several are clear and I can see at a glance what is inside.
Like those 2 totes you see in the front with the white lids, 
they contain scrap booking supplies.
The others are solid for a reason because 
they contain mending, old blue jeans or other
things I am not needing or using at the present time.


In the corner is a bookcase with both books and leaflets.
If you want to do it, I probably have a book on it.
Quilting, embroidery, crochet, knitting, sewing, 
macrame', beading, cross stitch, and crafts. 


If you are like me, you are always interested 
in what books a fellow blogger has in their collection.
I'll give you a closer look.......








On top of the bookcase is my Gutermann 
Thread Cabinet, 
my Christmas present from my oldest daughter.
Next to that is my ribbons.  


My next project, Meghan's t-shirt quilt.
She has been bugging me to get it done.


These are all the t-shirts she has gotten for 
all the races she has run over the years. 
The bag is a Cracker Barrel shopping bag 
and it is the largest bag they have. 
It is plum full to the bottom with her t-shirts.


Just some of my scrap booking stuff.


My work area, a computer desk.
I sew on this surface. 
There have been times I sew at the kitchen table
when I am sewing a big project like a large quilt.


The other side of my work surface.


My printer/copier sits on a cane bottom chair.


My husband made this dry sink from oak.
It use to sit in my kitchen, now it has been 
commandeered to my sewing room.
It serves as another place to store things.

 
Right now I have a large bag of polyester stuffing
and another large bag of bubble wrap/packing supplies
stored in here. The drawers have sewing supplies 
like more spools of thread, bobbins and the things 
that came with my sewing machines.


I have utilized a large sheet of cardboard 
and applied my small felt board 
for laying out quilt pieces.
I have a large felt board as well and 
I recommend having one. It is the handiest
tool and I have never regretted buying them.


So I move my quilt project out of the way
and will now show you what is in the closet.







Yes, this closet is jam packed full of all sorts of things
from all of my baby yarn, to totes of fabric, wrapping paper,
tote of beading supplies, my serger, polyfill stuffing, 
quilt batting, a box of doily crochet thread, box of patterns, 
several WIP and more.
You may think this is a lot of stuff, but there is more, 
I have a few sliding totes on wheels under 
both beds in the other bedrooms. I have completed 
projects in totes in my bedroom closet. 
Then of course I have shown you on other occasions
my easy chair in the living room.
That is where a tote of yarn is and a few other things, 
like the hex blanket another WIP.


This room has other things in it as well,
the wooden acorn ornaments my husband made 
on his turning lathe.


A couple of more things he made that I stacked 
upon each other, a birdhouse and a recipe box
that needs to be painted.


Behind the Gutermann thread drawer are 4 of
those compartment things that are usually mounted
on a workshop wall, used for screws, nuts and bolts.
The ones I have are filled with all sorts of crafty supplies.


I store my buttons in old blue mason jars, and
a few smaller, fancier buttons in a jar with a cork stopper.


If there is anything at all that drives me nuts it
would be the clutter of cords from the computer. 
They get dusty just like everything else does.
Recently I saw a gadget that eliminates 
a lot of this tangled up mess. 
I plan to invest in one and I will let you know 
if it is worth ordering.


So there you have it, my space.
The biggest challenge of all is to keep it 
straightened up and organized.
That isn't always easy when it comes to needing
something that is in a box/tote that is under 
another box/tote. 
I hate digging around for what I need, 
but I consider myself lucky since many 
bloggers don't have a room at all to keep their 
supplies in.
Oh, and while I still have your attention,
I will let you know something else that is in my room,
can you find it? Would you like to know what it is?
I have done a great job of hiding it.....
I really need to get it out and get it put together.
I will give you a hint......
Tin Lizzie, lol.
Now look real close. 
Go back up to the 3rd picture and under that dark blue tote is
one box with the quilting machine in it. 
There is another box with the frame work.
Even my husband couldn't find it when he came in the room.
I use to have my printer sitting on it, 
and that was when the dry sink was still in my kitchen. 
This has been a long post.
Thank you for visiting.
I have enjoyed your company.
So, tell me about your space.
~*~
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THAT THE ONES YOU LOVE ARE LIFE'S MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS~