Want-it-Wednesday

If I was having a Halloween party this year I would get these labels from Martha Stewart:

Unfortunately no Halloween party for me this year, but if you are having one...you could pick these up, or make your own labels. They are so fun!

Happy Wednesday!

Terrific Tuesday

The Witch is in!

My witch's hat came in time for Halloween.  I love how it turned out.

here are some other needlepoint I have done for Halloween.

I call him my pimped out pumpkin

frog wizard

I completed this Halloween club last year:

Happy Halloween

I love to stitch Halloween canvas...I think they are my favorite!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday Morning Musing

I completed 3 of the 4 projects I set out to do this weekend. Here's what I did.

1) I took a wine bottle and turned it into a Halloween decoration.

I added my own label to the bottle, and stuck some wire and beads into the cork.

2) I made some Halloween pictures.

Here are some close ups:

I purchased the frames 1/2 off at Michael's, then just cut out some Halloween diecuts out of Halloween paper. 

3) I got caught up on my pictures. 

4) I had wanted to get my travel trailer listed on craig's list.  This did not get done, but I did make some progress..I found the title and did some research on listing price.  I now just need to get some pictures and get it listed (maybe next weekend)

Happy Monday!

Finish it Friday

Sorry I've not been posting this week...being out of town last weekend and then coming home with a cold kept me from  my normal routine.  Here are things I would like to accomplish for the weekend:

1.  take this

and turn it into a Halloween decoration.  I was inspired after seeing what Noell Hyman created out of a wine bottle.

2. Turn these frames (they are on sale this week for 1/2 off at Michael's) into some art to go onto my walls.

I got the idea here.

3.  I'm way behind on printing pictures.  I want to go get thru at least 3 months of pictures.

4. Sale my travel trailer.  Ok...I don't actually have to sell it this weekend but my goal is to get it listed on  craigslist this weekend.  If  anyone wants to buy a travel trailer let me know.

If you have some goals you would like to accomplish this weekend post them in the comments.

Have a great weekend!

Monday Musings

I made it. I walked/ran 13.1 miles yesterday. My time was a little slower than I would have liked, but at least I finished. The weather was great, and we had a great time. After the run we went to a football game...Broncos v. Jets. Mile high stadium was awesome and I think we were siting about mlie up from the field. We sat by some roudy fans..some for the broncos and some for the jets, so it made for a very fun game. I'm now sitting in the Denver airport waiting to fly back home.

Happy Monday!

Finish it Friday

Goal for this weekend:

Complete a 1/2 Marathon.  I will be in Denver running /walking in the Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon.
I'm a bit worried about the altitude...but I"m hoping that being able to breath while you run is just over rated.  The guides  tell you to get to Denver a week early, so you have time to adjust to the altitude.  Oh right...that's so easy to do when you work full time, and are on a budget... NOT.  We will be going the day before we run.  We will have a whole 24 hours to adjust... no problem.




come back next week to see how I did.

Tasty Thursday - Go Bananas

My favorite banana recipes comes from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals.  It has raspberries in it which not only gives it a little splash of color, but also a slight tartness that's delicious.   It does not have any oil or butter, so I  feel it is healthier than most other recipes I've tried.  It stays moist even without all the oil and butter.

The next time you have some overripe bananas give this recipe a try. 

Banana Raspberry Bread

2 cups flour

3/4 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 large overripe banana-mashed (it will work if you only have 3)

1/4 cup nonfat milk

1 lg egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup frozen raspberries (you don't need to thaw them)

combine all the dry ingredients. 

combine bananas, milk, egg, vanilla in a large bowl.  Add dry ingredients and mix until blended.  fold in raspberries

Pour batter into 8 in loaf pan that's been sprayed with cooking spray. 

bake about 1 hour in preheat 350% oven (until toothpick comes out nearly clean)

let cool for 10 min on a wire rack, remove bread from pan and let cool completely before slicing. 

Enjoy!

Art Bins

Yes, today I'm talking about Art Bins.  I know not too exciting but they are great. 

This is what I store my scrapbook supplies in.  It makes everything look so organized.   I keep individual projects in them, so it is easy to grab and go if I'm going to a scrap retreat.  

What makes them even better is that they are on sale at JoAnn's this week.  If you are looking for a way to organize go pick one up and give it a try. 

New Plan

I'm going to try a new plan for blogging. Here's what you can expect:

Friday - Finish it Friday
I will list at least one project I hope to complete over the weekend. It could be anything.  A crafting project, An organizational project, or anything else I need to get done.  Feel free to leave a post about what you would like to complete for the weekend.  I  believe that if you make a goal, write it down, and tell someone else... then you are more likely to accomplish the goal.

Monday - Monday morning Musings
I will report on my Finish it Friday project, and then no telling what else.  I may included some other crafty project I"m working on,  what I did over the weekend, or anything else I feel like sharing.

Tuesday - Terrific Tuesday
no particular topic, just whatever strikes my fancy

Wednesday - Want it Wednesday
I will be blogging about items that I want or I think you may want.  Could be a crafty items, clothes, home decor items, etc...anything goes.  

Thursday - Tasty Thursday
All things tasty.  Could be a  a recipe,  a great place to eat, a tasty wine, or anything else food/drink related.

And that brings back to Finish it Friday.

warning: This is my plan for today...blog plans my change without notice.

Halloween Cards

I completed my Finish it Friday project, and made 9 Halloween cards.  I like to make my cards assembly line style.

I cut all the paper at one time, stamp everything, then glue everything down.
I made 3 different designs, but they all use the same sketch...it's just rotated to change the look.

supplies: all from Close to My Heart- Kit of the Month

 I also made a birthday card, but I can't show that yet.

Happy Monday!

Finish it Friday

I got the idea about Finish it Friday from the Simplify 101 blog.  Abey  had a list of projects to finish for the entire month.  I'm totally not that organized...I can only think about what I'm going to be doing in the next few days.  So I decided to mortify her plan.  On Friday's I'm going to blog about at least one project that I would like to complete over the weekend.  On Monday I will let you know my progress.

This weekend, my goal is to make Halloween cards.  I have the paper, glitter, and stamps ready to go.

 Come back Monday to see if I was able to at least get 1 card completed.

30 days hath September-Day 8

I had to skip Day 7.  Forgot to get some pictures developed, so on to Day 8.

I heard about the Hunger Games about a year ago and  was totally not interested...sending kids into a arena to fight to the death...nothing about that sounded appealing.  Then Mocking Jay came out a month or so ago and everyone was talking about these books again.  I finally decided to give them a try.  They were awesome. I finished all three in about a week.   I missed our labor day cookout because I knew I couldn't sleep that night unless I knew what had happened.  We stayed in and ordered pizza so I could finish Catching Fire.  I then immediately started Mocking Jay(thank goodness for my ipad I just had to press "buy" and it magically appeared).  I've finished them all now and I'm sad it is was only a Trilogy.   I wish there was more(and yes I still want more Harry Potter also. I get so attached to the characters I'm always sad when a series comes to an end).  I highly recommend that everyone give these a try.

Happy Reading!

30 days Hath September-Day 6

Day 6 layout

It's was Labor Day, so we spent a relaxing day at home.

30 days Hath September-Day 5

Day 5 layout

We went to the 1st football game of the season.  TECH vs. SMU....Everyone was anxious to see how we would do with a new coach.  It was close, but we did win.

30 Days Hath September-Day 4

Day 4 layout:

I Finish the Witch's Hat!  I can't wait to see it put together. 

30 days Hath September-Day 3

Day 3 layout:

We went to the First Friday Art Trail...I loved the hats.  Thanks to the giveaway from Marlis I ordered a set of Fiesta ware.

30 Days Hath September

Day 2 layout: 

RAIN was my word of the day.  I ate lunch at Rain Uptown and then later that afternoon we had Rain. 

30 Days Hath September

In 2008 I took a "Have More Fun" class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. One of the projects was to create a scrapbook for the month of September.  You were suppose to take a picture, do a  little journaling and save memorabilia for each day.  I bought all the supplies, took pictures for about 2 weeks, but didn't get anything scraped.  In 2009 I tried again....still didn't get it completed(or even started).
Now it's 2010 and I'm trying again. Here's  my 1st page.

I journaled things I wanted to do this month:
 Blog -I want to blog more and update my page
 Scrap-complete the September project
 Doodle-I"m taking a class, so will try and doodle on my pages
 Run-I'm training for a 1/2 marathon that's in Oct. so it 's time to get serious with the training

 I'll post the pages as I get them done.

Happy September!

August Challenge

Here is my layout for the August Sketch challenge over at Scraphappy

paper & stickers: close to my heart

Doodles

doodle by Stephanie

I've signed up to take a doodling class on line.  Go check out Stephanie Ackerman's blog to see her fabulous doodles and to sign up for the class.
Class starts today. It is a self paced class, so you still have time to sign up.

Mad Women

What have I been doing on this tax-free weekend....not out shopping that's for sure.  I've been stitching like a mad women.  The deadline to finish the witch's hat is in one week.  I had stopped stitching on it for about 2 weeks....I'd been fretting over it, but not stitching.
Why the fretting....I was not happy with the flowers.  I had couched down some yarn for the flowers, but it was not the look I was going for.
Finally late last week inspiration struck

I"m going to try putting silk flowers on my hat.  I have to get everything stitched before I glue this on, so that's what I have done all weekend

I only have a small section of black, and the yellow edge to complete.  I had almost given up on having this completed by the end of August, but I now have renewed hope.  The background stitch is hesitation and goes very quickly.  I'm going to basketweave the yellow.
Stop by next weekend to see if I have met my deadline.

Happy Stitching!

Giveaway

Check out Marlis's blog she has a great giveaway, a $40 gift certificate from CSN stores.   While you are there look at the great recipe she posted...looks yummy!

Fitness Journal

I have my fitness journal made.  Now I just have to do the hard part...eat right and exercise so I can log it into the journal.   Hopefully having something cute to keep track will help.

Every 4 weeks I will be taking a picture of myself and putting it in the book (I have already taken week 1 pic, but haven't printed yet.

Each day I keep track of my calories intake(if I went over or under my goal, and let me tell you right now I have not gone under yet).  I also keep track of my workouts.

 I'm training for a 1/2 marathon in October, so I'm trying to run 3 days a week and some weight training at least 2 days a week.  I also try and do yoga a couple times a week and do at least one more cardio workout.  This week I did pretty well.  Would have liked to do 1 more yoga workout, but that just didn't happen.

Eat Right and Get Moving!

Paprika!

 My mom gave me some Paprika that she brought back from Budapest. I couldn't wait to use it. 

I immediately knew the first dish I was going to make was going to be Hamburger Stroganoff. 

I have been making this since I was in high school.  The original recipe came from a microwave cook book that we got with our fist microwave. Through the years I have tweaked the recipe a bit...I don't cook it in the microwave anymore (but, boy was that easy while I was in college),  I use fresh mushrooms instead of canned, use lowfat sour cream and whole wheat yoke free noodles now.  It is still one of my favorite things to cook...it's fast, easy and good. 

Hamburger Stroganoff

1 pkg whole wheat noodles

1 lb ground beef 

1/2 to 1 onion, chopped

pkg of presliced mushrooms

2 Tbs flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 to 1 tsp paprika (straight from Hungry if you have it)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup lowfat sour cream 

cook noodles as directed on package.

In large skillet over medium high heat cook meat, mushrooms, and onions until meat is browned.  Add flour, salt and paprika. Blend well. Stir in soup and cook until heated (a few minutes). Stir in sour cream and take off heat. 

Serve over noodles & sprinkle with extra paprika if desired. 

Enjoy!

Bling

I've been working on my Melissa Shirley's witches hat this weekend. I've decided every witch needs a little bling, so I've added some Jolee's Swarovski crystals to the top of the hat.

I have all my leaves done on the brim and 1 flower. I couched down some yarn for the flower.

The stitch guide uses Flair for the yellow, but I'm thinking I need a little sparkle. I think the more bling a witch has the happier  & nicer she'll be!

Happy Stitching!

Get Motivated

For the last few months I have been slacking. I have not been working out or eating like I should. I have a list of excuses....I've been out of town a few times, my workout buddy has been out of town, it's too hot, Millie ate my workout schedule....the list goes on and on. I needed some motivation.. and I found it here. After reading about Cathy's quest to eat less and move more I decided I needed to get back to doing the same. She did a fitness journal to record her journey and if you are a digital scrapper she has some templates that would work great for this. I'm going to make a journal out of paper and glue.

I'll start with an 8X8 notebook that I bound with my Zutter. I already had this made (it was for another project that never got completed)

I'll be using chatterbox paper that I have had in my stash for many years.

I'm going to use journaling block stamps so I can have a place to track my progress each day. I'm planning on keeping track of what I did to workout and if I stayed on track with my eating. For now I'm using an iPhone app to record my calorie intake each day. I may change to weight watchers if the calorie thing doesn't work for me.

I'm still playing with how I'm going to arrange everything. I will post the finished journal once it is complete.

I'm hoping that having to write down my progress each day will keep me motivated and on track.

Happy Exercising!

Flowers in Bloom

Last night I went to the the PJ party at PFOS. We had a great time stitching. I also got some help on putting my flower together (see post below for pattern info). You can put a pin on the back, a magnet or sew it directly on an item. I think I will be making mine into a pin to go on a jean jacket.

We saw the reveal of the new clubs for PFOS. They are both great but, one really got me excited. You will have to be watching their blog for the details.

Here are more flowers that I have been working on. This is the brim for a Melissa Shirley's witches hat. I have 2 weeks to get it completed if I'm going to make the Halloween finishing deadline. I only have a few leaves done right now.

The top of the hat is almost complete.

I only need to decide what I'm going to put in the red squares.

The stars are stitches with glow in the dark Kreinik, How cool is that.

Happy Stitching!

Let's Get Started

I'm starting my blog today after much debating on...should I, can I keep it up, can I come up with things to write, will anyone read it....and list of other worries. I finally decided if I was spending time thinking about then I might as well try it. So here we go....

I'll be sharing my obsessions I mean hobbies with you. Some of the top ones include needlepoint, scrapbooking, reading, and working out.

Today I've been working on this cute needlepoint flower pins.

The pattern is Gypsy Rose by Sundance Designs. If you can't find it at your local needlepoint store you can order one at Pocket Full Of Stitches

I have stitched 3 centers. This is a fun way to play with different stitches. The plaid is my favorite.

I have my fabric picked out for the petals.

Hopefully tomorrow I can show you the finished flower.

Happy Stitching!