What I'm Not In A Group? The Faboulous Friday Four

I have been out visiting with some blog and twitter friends. 
I love to sew, cook, crochet, take pictures, talk about my kids, read inspiring words, fix up my house.
 Ok thats just wearing me out thinking about all the stuff I love to do.

 I have come to realize that I really do not FIT in with any one type of group! 
 Sad I know.   
Guess I could put a positive spin on it...
I am diverse, right?
When you come to my blog you never know what you will find.

I wanted to share with you some blogs that are in different catagories,
but they each share one thing in common...wonderful blogs.
 
Wow there are alot of great ones out there. 
 I was only able to share four this Friday with you.

     I LOVE them all.

(Note: These are not in any order)

1.  Three Mango Seeds  
She has an awesome furniture update that she did for her daughter's room. LOVIN the color.


 2. Jennifer Sis Boom
  You have never seen  fabric yoyo's used like this before!
 I promise you are going to be inspired to make a yo yo or two. 
Even if you don't craft or sew, her fabric and patterns will brighten your day and give you insight into what colors are HOT right now.


3.Theresa @ Blooming on Bainbridge   
 I have been reading this blog since day one! 
First I had the pleasure of getting to visit Bainbridge, WA.,  so the name caught me.
 But any girl that can wear bright pink lipstick, I just knew she had to be originally from the south.
 Of course I had to support a southern girl way up north.   And now she is into sewing.. she made the sweetest little zippered bag this week... she shares her how to and who inspired her. Gotta love that!


4. Tanya @ Sunday Baker    
YUM ... she has a Chocolate Zucchini Cake posted right now that will make you think of Zucchini  in a whole new way.
If her recipes don't getcha...her story will!
  You HAVE to read her story...take my word for it!




Please go over checkout these ladies blogs,
 maybe even follow them on twitter....
You know you can never have to many friends...

SHOO MR. WHOO

Thought I would share  a few pictures that I captured in my backyard this morning...I actually thought he would have flown away by the time I made it back out with the camera, not to mention Max was on the porch

barking his head off.

I must tell you owls freak me out!

 But,  you know me I had to get the camera.

 He was so beautiful and at peace. 

 Almost like he was patiently waiting for his photo op.

 Did I mention that owls really freak me out!

 I even talked to him,  still he did not fly away.

Yes, by this picture I am really freaking out!

Freaking out because, that is what they do to me, 

 I am not scared of them, they just give me the creeps!

AND,

 freaking out because he was not going anywhere...just watching me and can I tell you I was right next to him talking the whole time and clicking the camera...

Guess  he was cleaning his claws to swoop down on

 Max who would not stop barking. 

Ok...still freaking out!

I came on in the house to leave him to his peaceful morning,

 while I in turn, get ready to head over to the dentist,

 no peace in that!

 

Doggone Cute DIY

I updated the stair rail from wooden spindles to wrought iron.

 There was nothing wrong with them.

 I actually gave them away and they were given back.

 So they sat and sat in the garage.  

That is until I ran across this little picture that gave me inspiration.

How stinkin cute is that....a dog bed and a use for my stair spindles.  YEAH

I photographed the information in case you are interested in looking for the exact directions to make theirs.

Of course, I did not follow their instructions, I kinda did my own thing.

The neighbors thought I was making a table...which would be a great idea...

Dang...bought the wrong size screws...back to Lowes

This bed is put together with screws, few nails,

 wood glue and these corner brackets. 

(Making sure it can hold up during a hurricane,

 because the dog only weighs 17 pounds)

 I had purchased the cutest little bun feet,

 but saw these laying in the grass. These are the tops of the spindle.

WA LA budget friendly feet for  FREE 

Since the spindles were stained, I went ahead and stained the rest of the bed to match.  Then Camo Man applied two coats of sealer to help it resist scratches.

I am not finished yet, I have to make the cover to fit the insert that was 22X22.

I put it in the corner of my bedroom.

Look at the face he gave me, don't believe he wants it in the corner.

His other bed was in front of the window...

guess that's where I better put it.

He's happy now... and so am I 

I get to go shopping today for some cool fabric to make his cover.

Be sure to go over to my friends at Skip To My Lou and see all the projects on

Made By You Monday and if you want to see even more great projects checkout this linky THE DIY SHOW OFF

When In Doubt... Check It Out

Look at this sweet little crab...  yeah, I know he is missing a claw. 

 But did you know he is smarter than most of us? 

He was looking for a shady spot after some little kid dug him up.

 He knows to not get in the sun and only comes out to play at night!

Thought I had it right, go out late in the evening.

Wear all the  protection you can from that big orange ball in the sky,

sunscreen, glasses, hat...you get the picture.

Yesterday, I had a visit with my dermatologist.  

Even with all the precautions,

I still had to have not one, but TWO large biopsies taken....

OOOOCH very painful! 

I had a spot on my arm that I thought was a bug bite that would not go away...well it would get better and then next thing I knew there it was again, 

I finally went to the doctor.

She then wanted to look at the rest of my torso...

could not understand why, but agreed

 One mole that I have had for so many years  under my arm
(has never seen the sun)...now GONE! 

She totally caught me by surprise when she saw it and insisted it had to go!

Now the wait for the lab report....hate that part.

Waiting is worse than the actual removal.

For those of you that read my sisters blog,  she has been well fussed at for getting that sun burn at the beach!

DID YOU KNOW...

~ One in Five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of their lifetime.
~ One person an hour dies from the skin cancer Melanoma.   WOW that is scary.

~   I have a link straight to more information on skin cancer and prevention,

 American Cancer Society

My new motto .... When in Doubt...Have it Checked Out. 

TWO GREAT IDEAS FOR BUTTON COVERS

I wanted to share with you some things you can do with Button Covers.

I was talking with some ladies in a sewing group and I was surprised that they had never seen the two following ideas.

 I thought that I would share them with ya'll as well.

ID  REELS/HOLDER

These are so easy to make and are a great gift for a nurse, teacher or anyone that has to wear an ID. 

The reels at Office Depot cost a little more, but hold up the best. 

This is the type of button covers I use.

It has great instructions on the package on how to assemble your button.

I did not monogram all the ones that I made. 

 I found fabric with tiny designs and cut them to fit in the

 middle of the button cover.

You will need to get a pair of needle nose pliers and take the little hook off of the back so that you can glue the button cover to the badge reel.

I use E6000 glue, I find it to be the best at holding the button covers on.  I use a paper plate to place it on, it can get stringy, also a wooden toothpick works great at removing any excess.  This glue does take longer to dry...

I let mine dry overnight.

Hot glue did not work for me, they would pop off and I hate burning my fingers.

If you purchase the colored badge reels remember to 

 consider your fabric choices.  

The bottom piece can be seen.

Take it from me you hate to have a cute little hot pink and

 lime green button cover to find you only have a red reel and its midnight.

 I have seen some made with all colors but I guess that I am just to picky.

QUICK GIFT IDEA

PONYTAIL HOLDERS WITH BUTTON COVERS

My daughter needed a quick thought gift...(like 15 mins). 

 She said it was for a little girl that was about 10 years old with long hair.

I grabbed  a piece of the wire shown above and pulled a skinny rubber band through some monogrammed button covers.

BAM instant ponytail holders!

If you do not have a monogram machine look at the little camo one (below)...just as cute.

I always keep on hand little cello bags, thin ribbons and hang tags.

 They make your gifts, candies, cupcakes, etc., look so much more professional.

Have you used a button cover in an unique way ?   Do share!

Connect to see more great craft ideas...
Skip To My Lou

Finding The Right Rug

I had new hardwood floors put in when we went through our kitchen disaster..
"Good Bye Mr. Satined Carpet"

Have you ever envisioned a room in your head? 

I could close my eyes and just dream of a beautiful rug...

This was a too little dark,

A little to light, would not look to good with spaghetti O's on it.

Room is too long and narrow for a round rug.

So many choices...

I thought it would be a great idea to get a designer to help me out.

 She came over for a little visit, measured and suggested the perfect rug.

 Along with new chairs and recliner for Camo Man.

What better way to sell your husband on something,
than to promise a new recliner. 
Well I waited and the day arrived...

The delivery men where at my door!

HOORAY!

then...

           SHOCK AND HORROR

Sorry,  I took these with my cell phone, I was shocked,

 disappointed and crying!

LOOK AT THAT RUG! 

  It did not even extend to the chairs (which one of them was broken).

I tried just placing it under the table. 

No matter how I turned it...the rug just did not work!

I thought when she told me that the room needed a 

 5X7 rug that sounded a bit small,

 but  she was the professional.

I was so disappointed...Back to the store it went.

I then took it upon myself to just order what I wanted...heck it is my house.

This pattern is almost exactly the same.

(I am in the process of getting rid of the blue chair in the corner and replacing it with a chest or little table, also looking for a darker wood tray and items for the coffee table.)

 This rug was actually much larger and was cheaper at a different store.

I am so much happier with this one.

Even though the designer lady stated this size was wrong for the room!

I am learning that in the end I am paying for it and my family is the ones who have to live with the rug.

Every time I tried to take a picture of the pattern Max would jump in.

 (I just noticed in a picture above he is sitting by the coffee table.)

 After fussin at him...

I look over and he is givin me the mean eyes...

sittin in the chair he is NOT allowed in!  Guess he showed me!

Nothing like fresh cantaloupe from the garden...so worth the time and effort.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend  and find time to enjoy something simple.