Work, Fun, Play, and Projects.....

Work time: Before the 4th weekend I cleared the area next to Palm tree and pond of grass and added red bark chips and stepping stones....it matches the rest now...I like the cleaner look of the chips..the ponds lilys have really grown this year...

One of the plants around the pond has a weird flower. It doesn't do anything but come out like a long stick in yellow and then it dies off never opening or making a flower??? Does anyone have any idea what this is????those large redish leaves in the background is the plant..

Fun and Work:Our trip to Big Bear over the 4th was awesome as usual..warm, clean air, and a great fireworks show...my DD came up with her hubby and I caught them playing catch with the football, DH took a break to play with them, too. He did paint the garage/shed, so I had no complaints.... :)

Play Time: My local group and I went on a yarn shop field trip on the 1st of the month,, this is the before and this is the after shopping shots...we always have such a great time and of course lunch is a must too....

I am making the awards to be handed out at our Anniversary luncheon this Sunday for my group and I am also including a collage photo for each member from the past year....it is a 5x7...

I even got gold stickers to add

Fun Work: Just finished this shawl except for the ties on the top. It was from the kit I got from my LYG Summer Exchange Beach Party in June....I just added the grey to give it more color... :) I used Lyon Brand Chenille and a size "N" hook.....


More Fun: I am making this little Barbie doll dress, hat and purse[which I have not finished yet] for the LA County Fair coming up this year....I try and enter something each year. It is fun to see what ribbon, if any, you may be lucky enough to win...So far I have been winning ribbons every year....keep your fingers crossed for this year too...

I bought this yesterday. The new "stripes" is really pretty especially this ocean color one...just love them...

Then I decided last night to make this cute pin cushion for my wrist, I used Sugar n' cream cotton yarn and it came out a tad larger than I thought so next time I will use some cotton #3 thread that I just got at my LYS last week. I got some in the prettiest peach and I think that will look good....I saw a pattern for a ring one too that I may try...this was easy and fun to make... :)

Going to use this Wizard of OZ material to make a pillow for a swap I am in on Flickr for my partner.... I love the Ruby red slippers.... :)

This little puffy of "hot chilis" has cooking tips on the back written on printable material. I have it stting on the counter for a quick look..I got it from a swap friend from the Yummy Recipe Swap last month. See my Marilyn Monroe cookie jar on the left....I collect her memoribilia.... :)

A New Windsock

I had to show off....my new online friend over at Beansiebabbles made one of my windsocks and she made hers for the holiday...I love it!!! Turned out wonderful....see my June 30th post for the pattern.....

So Go ahead....Get creative and make one and link to me so I can see what you thought up to embellish your windsock....

What Harry Potter Wand are You?

What hat do you wear, being the HP fan I am...of course I am....Gryffindor, who else... :) go and see what hat you are ?????

What Harry Potter Wand Are You? Your Result: 9" Willow, Phoenix Feather Your wand is shorter than average, with a light and surprisingly tough wood. Phoenix Feather is rare and powerful; it is also an Ollivander favorite. Your wand is ideal for Charms.
12.5" Yew, Dragon Heartstring
10.5" Ash, Phoenix Feather
11" Mahogany, Unicorn Hair
14" Holly, Veela Hair
8.5" Mahogany, Dragon Heartstring
11.5" Yew, Unicorn Hair
11" Ash, Hippogriff Talon
What Harry Potter Wand Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Summer Projects, Wind Sock, and Small Gifts

Outside my pond is flowing over with new growth....but I love it. All the butterflies and birds are flittering around and the sound of the water is oh so relaxing.... In my house I have an 80 gal fish tank...in it I have 3 fish, because they are so big, one is 18" long, I have had the Oscar since 1994...here 2 of them...

I made a post card for a swap friend for "at the beah" days....and she sent me one...I love hers...

it is old fashion with the girls swinging together, and on the back she even included a little song...I wrote a saying that I thought up about summer and the ocean...

“It’s hard for one to put into words

why you might be hypnotized by the beach,

the sound of the waves,

and the laughter of children distant in the wind.

Everything about it is refreshing,

regenerating, and almost like therapy...

Beach Therapy”
by PBD 6/2009

I love making these scrubbies....they are easy and fun to make and make wonderful little gifts...the napkin rings are too...in the little net bag is a flag pin made with pins...

I just made this last night, it is a Musical Flag Hanger it was pretty simple I followed this pattern and had fun putting it all together, I changed the stars as I actually was at JoAnns and found little star beads and they worked out perfect!!! Something else to add to my patio...

now I think I am going to make another wind sock from an ice tea can or you can use an oatmeal box too....I made one last year for a swap friend and I loved how it turned out...

Here is what you will need:

Crocheted Windsock

• one small round can [oatmeal or ice tea]
• yarn 4ply WW any color [I used a tan]
• some felt of colors you will use to make your designs [I made a house and birds and used blue,red,dark green, brown, yellow,blue, tan, black
• button flowers
• pre-cut flowers
• buttons for embellishments
• alpha beads
• ribbon
• glue
• a plastic tablecloth cut in 2" strips to the length you wish it to be [I made mine 5' long

1. Clean out your can and leave empty
2. **crochet a round see directions below
3. cut tablecloth into long strips 2" wide x 5' long
4. glue on precute felt flowers [JoAnns or any craft store]
5. cut out your bird and bird house from the felt and then glue onto can
6. cut out a tree from the brown and green felt and glue on can as shown in picture
7. glue on the buttons onto the tree to make your design
8. cut out bird house with red and beige felt and glue on other side of tree[see photo for pieces to cut] I made a round hole with black felt and cut a few yellow squiggly pieces to glue on the foof area, you can make it any way you want, personalize it and add a name on the other side, gluing alpha beads on a ribbon
9. attach cut plastic to bottom of can by tieing a knot in every 2 stitch,
10. cut strips to desired length
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. See how it moves when the wind hits it. This is an easy project and one that is fun and can be embellished any way you like. Try your artist abilities and make yours and be sure to post and link to your designs so I can see what you came up with!

**Crocheted windsock pattern:

• crochet a round with color of your choice, ch 4, ss to join, ch 1, 12 sc in circle, ss to join in 1st sc, ch 1, do not turn
• 2 sc in each sc around, ss to join , ch 1
• sc in same st, [2 sc in next st, sc in next st] repeat around, ch 1
• sc in same st, [sc next 2 st, 2 sc in next st]rpt around, ch 1
• sc in same st,[sc next 3 st, 2 sc in next st] rpt around, ch 1
• rpt around till fits top of can top you have used adding 1 more sc and then 2 sc
• next row sc around in back loops only around, ch 1
• sc in both loops around ss to join, ch 1
• rpt around till you reach the bottom of your can
• then sc in back loops only around ss st to join, ch 1
• sc dec in 1st 2 sts, sc around leave last 2 st then sc dec in last 2 st, ss to join, ch 1
• rpt last row around and then ss dec last 4 sts, fasten off
• at top of can attach with ss to any top sc st, ch 10, fasten off
• do this 3 more times spacing according to photo
• attach yarn to ring and sc around, 12-15x, fasten off
• attach 4 ch to loop with a ss joined in the middle, see photo

Who Sells on EBay?

Ok I have been dabling on Ebay for a few years now and I do ok....????I posted a few of my selling items. Be sure and scroll down and check out my sheep buttons, aren't they the cutest? I have more kinds so be sure and ask .... I love the little rag dolls....so cute...I mean I sell and then sometimes I don't...it all depends on the item, no not really it depends on the mood of the buyers. It is a "hit and miss" type of selling. You can list several of the same items and some of them will sell and some won't.

The big downfall with this is the fact that you are charged whether they sell or not, so some of your profit is eaten up with these costs on the items you list that don't sell... I have not found a way to get around this, but alas I still sell because sometimes I do well...

Now since the summer is my time with "no work" since school is out I am back to listing my items again. I have a ton of inventory I need to move....

Does anyone out there know of an easier way?????????????

Ebay has no competition to say of...I mean it is the most widely used marketplace for those "garage sale" type items that most of us have. You know the items we absolutely cannot part with but know we need to sell....

Well check out some of my items .... I am "country-debbb" and I just started listing...I sell "shabby chic" and crafting items, clothes, and anything else that grabs me... I call my store "2nds" Treasures Again and I try to hit the estate sales and pick up the unusal and the best looking items, and something I think will interest you the buyer...if you want to find something, snd me an email and I may have it in my stash of items to yet be posted....always willing to help out....I also have a ton of handmade items so be sure to check out my Etsy and my store [temp under construction] because there is some cute things there too..... I have a ton of quilting books and crossstitch books and wood crafts..... :)

Contests, Projects, and Summer

Hello bloggers and friends....where has June gone to? It is summertime already and I haven't finished 1/2 my projects...

I was over at "Grosgrain" and she has a wonderful tutorial on making vintage earrings and has a give-a-way.... I just love those pink ones. ....so hop on over there to try your hand on winning..oh and check out her "Frock" dress give-a-way too...it is the cutest idea....

I think I love the skirt one best for the idea of how to use my 1 yard stash of fabric I have in my craft room.....great idea and athe best part is anyone can sew it together as no pattern is needed and no measuring tape either...WOW....go check it out!

I had a stitching group party for the Summer Exchange with a beach theme at my house last Thursday and I won 21 skeins of yarn from our Left, Center, Right game we played where each player had to play with 3 skeins of yarn. It is a dice game and there is a "c" and a "l" and a "r" and a blank on the die. You roll and if you get a "r" you pass one skein to the right and a "l" to the left and a "c" you put it in the middle or if you are lucky and get a blank you get to keep the skein. You keep playing till they are all in the middle and there is only one player left with a skein and she wins them all...voila....that was ME!!!! Or you can play with quarters or dollard too...as we did and Pat won the $$$$$....what fun...my group loves this game...then we played pass the chain....before the party I made a huge chain of 453 stitches and then we passed it around with everyone holding the chain...then I went around and asked everyone to guess the amount of chains.....the winner got a small prize "summer" themed....and Shanda won that....then we played our "Exchange" game...I made up a story with left, across, and right in it about our group and we passed the packages around till the end and that package was what you got....lots of laughs and lots of fun!!!! I won that gorgeous pink floral bag filled with yarn and a pattern for a shawl along with several past Crochet magazines...yummy.....See the groups photo as we had a sun glasses contest....we all had to wear glasses Denise won by the most votes.....she had cut out pictures of her son and glued them on her sunglasses...leave it to Denise to think up some good ones....I put a card I made on the computer with the name of the party, and our logo on it and everyone had to sign it as it will go into our scrapbook along with all our photos of the party...a huge success....I love giving parties and the gals look forward to them.... :)

I think next year I will have a guessing jar with sand and shells in it....oh check out my centerpiece I made with a sand pail and skeins of yarn and hooks and needles... :) What fun!!!!!

Funny Yarn Ball Video

You have to see this funny video...it is too much!!!

http://www.funnyshock.com/video/rolling-yarn-ball

Some Projects from May 2009

This is suppose to be Sebastian....He is for a swap I am in for The Little Mermaid. IT was fun to make....I put his name on his shell..

I made a garden bag for a swap from All Around the House...the bag I made in fleece with a frog clasp and the front I crocheted with worsted weight yarn and pony beads....