Tassel Addiction

I discovered tassels on the Nesters blog . I decided to make some for prizes for the Annual Cookie Exchange that I hose with my sister-in-law. These are my first two attempts. I was pleased and hooked!

After the Christmas rush and before school started again, I made two more. 

I have now added wire racks to my craft room for storing my ribbon. Sadly, I have not made any more tassels since school started. I have been busy crocheting and clogging in my spare time.
Y'all come back!
Lorilee

DREAM banner

I thought I would share one of my latest banners. I am hooked on banners! I love them everywhere.
I am swamped with school. After a day at work and then errands and chores at home, I haven't had much spare time for crafting. sniff sniff. My clogging group also performed with the Kolache Kloggers at the Hallettsville Kolache Festival. Hopefully, I can share some of the photos that my friend, Martha shared on Facebook! We took turns with the Kolache Kloggers and danced for an hour. It was also hot and humid. I was soaked with sweat in no time at all, but it was still so much fun!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Rummage Sale treasures

My SIL has been in charge of the "boutique"  part of her church's rummage sale. Last year I helped her work on pricing for a day. This year I had a week of Pre-kindergarten teacher workshops to attend and was only able to help for a couple of hours. The perk is getting to shop early! I have been looking for a simple miniature coat rack styled jewelry rack but have been unable to find one that fit my vision or pocket book! SCORE for $1.

A lavender Liz Claiborne handbag. It doesn't appear to have been used at all. I usually buy sensible brown handbags. I always love the brightly colored ones, but I  hate to spend so much money on something that won't match everything! Perfect for $5.

I want to display more of my vintage hat collection, but vintage hat stands are too expensive. This is actually a candle holder that was marked 50 cents! Yippee!

AND I found this crocheted shawl in a box of scarves marked 25 cents each. 

These treasures made my day!

I also made my first fabric and appliqué banner. I  was working on it until time for Ashlynn's birthday party and didn't get a photo of it.  So here it is with Ashlynn and her mom, Michelle.
Y'all come back!
Lorilee

Making gifts and an overnight trip

 I don't really have any photos of the overnight trip. I went with  my SIL to drop my nephews off at their summer camp for the week. As you can see, they didn't wait for us! They were anxious to get checked in. This is the oldest nephew's third year to attend and the younger nephew's first year. You can see how hot and dry it is. The grass is all crunchy! We stayed with my SIL's Aunt Jan that night. She is so much fun. We then shopped a little in Austin before heading home. We spent a little time at "The Domain" shopping center. We spent our time mostly in the M.A.C. store and a Sur La Table. We passed through the Macy's. We arrived home late Friday evening. My niece had a Regional swim meet the next morning. She placed 1st in her division in breast stroke, 2nd in butterfly and her freestyle relay team placed 1st. There will be a trip to the state meet in Corpus Christi in a few weeks!

 The week before the little trip, I was busy getting a wedding gift ready. I wasn't able to attend the celebration, so I sent the gift with my oldest son. The gift consisted of an apron from her Uncle's jeans, an embroidered tea towel, a cookbook of family recipes and a chicken feed bag tote bag (I forgot to include it in the photo). I have a stack of washed bags and plan to make more.

 Here is the apron on its own.

 A close-up of the embroidery. The pattern is from the Hobby Lobby website.

 I decided to include quotations about "family" in the cookbook of family recipes. I was thrilled to find polka dot looseleaf binders and polka dot border paper at Wal-Mart.

 The bride is a fan of "The Office" so I included some Dwight Schrute quotations!

 I used black and white polka dot for wrapping since the invitation was black with white print.

I've got a long to-do list. Hopefully, I'll get something done and have more to share soon! The Double Toe Jam is also coming up! I will be going to Waco to attend with several others from my clogging group!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Patriotic Project.

 Happy Independence Day. Although the rest of my house has its usual patriotic touches, my feather tree remained empty. Glass ornaments do not mix with young cats. Finally, I had an idea to rectify the matter. Beaded ornaments . Thankfully, I have a stash of the needed beads because Hobby Lobby in my town does not currently carry all the needed beads. (They do show them on their online store.) 

 I used 6mm faceted beads in red, clear and blue; 6mm. round silver and gold beads; and 18mm sunburst beads also in red, clear and blue. I also needed chenille stems, wire cutters, needle nose pliers, scissors, and thread for hanging. I cut the chenille stems into 4-inch pieces and used the pliers to make a tiny loop in one end to keep the beads from sliding off. Then I strung the beads and made a larger loop at the top and added the thread for hanging. In about 1 hour, I had enough ornaments for my bare feather tree.

 So bright and sparkly!

 So patriotic and pretty!

 Ahh, Much better than bare.

Go away, Scoundrel.
Y'all come back!
Lorilee

Faux Mercury Glass Pumpkin

I love my fall centerpiece! I won the glass pumpkin at Bunco last year. This year, I decided to use Looking Glass spray paint and give it a faux Mercury Glass treatment. I found the cake stand at Hobby Lobby for 60% off.

I found the big acorns while walking in the neighborhood with my husband. The seed pods are from my Golden Rain Tree.
Blessings,
Lorilee

Great yarn for scarves!

A sweet friend introduced me to this awesome yarn for making scarves! These colors are "Starbella" and "Sundance Holiday Frill" that I found online. I found a line called "Chrysallis" at Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart carries a Red Heart version. 

I love them!

I get 2 scarves from one skein. I better get busy!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Following trends!

I've noticed so much "subway art" in blog-land and on Pinterest! I had to give it a try. This is it.

I also found an old photo frame to use as a photo prop!  It was natural wood. I painted it bright red.
Oh, and we have caught camper fever!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

More Bracelets!

I have made two more of the "caterpillar" bracelets. One is Red, Blue and Silver seed beads with crystal rectangular beads.

This bracelet is a mixture of seed beads called chocolate and blue with an assortment of beads on the ends. School is about to start which will put an end to my crafting craze!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Another Hobby!

 I really needed to try another hobby requiring more tools and supplies! I have a friend that is always wearing the cutest beaded bracelets. On our trip to Waco for the Double Toe Jam, she taught me to make one of my favorites, called the "caterpillar".Thank you, Martha!

For me, working with these small beads and thin needles requires magnifying glasses and good lighting. I came across this Ott light at Hobby Lobby on the clearance shelf at 40% off.

 This is my completed "caterpillar" bracelet.

 I also attended a beading workshop at "Sewing Machines by B & B". This beaded tin was the project.

 This was an Altoids mint tin. I will now be collecting empty tins! 

The beaded tin was one of many projects in this book. 
Now I have a hobby for any mood-beading, sewing, Swedish weaving, crocheting, gardening, etc.
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Lent is Pysanky time

Last Saturday was a Pysanky day for my SIL, Marie, and I. Pysanky are Ukrainian Easter Eggs.  She brought "Bug" along. Rascal sure liked the way she scratched his head.

We each finished 2 eggs. We started mid-morning and worked all day, stopping for lunch and supper.

David kept us company when he returned from work.

Hannah, a.k.a. Bug, taught Uncle David how to play Angry Birds! They had a blast.

Since the head scratching was over, Rascal took a nap in my Pysanky supply suitcase!

Supplies for Pysanky include a table cover, pattern books, beeswax, candles, blown out egg shells, rubber bands, vinegar, dyes, paper towels, pencil, and kistky. I ordered my dyes, pattern books, beeswax and kistky from www.ukrainiangiftshop.com . I currently have 12 dye colors mixed in quart canning jars. I really need to buy more jars and mix my remaining colors.

This is the first egg I made this year.

This was the third that I finished on Sunday.

I also made the egg on the far right on Saturday. David requested an egg with a Scottish thistle to represent his Scottish roots. The rest of the eggs are from last year. So far, I have only lost one egg to breakage. Rascal is to blame! So I no longer display them on the table. They now reside behind glass doors with my Depression glass and other breakables.

Y'all come back,

Lorilee