A Day At The Georgia Aquarium

Our daughter lives in GA in a suburb of  Atlanta. She turned 23 on the 13th. My husband, son and I traveled there yesterday to spend the day with Hanna and Rob. We let her plan our day of activities. We ate at Egg Harbor Cafe for lunch. We then went to the GA Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. If you have not been, it is well worth the visit and money for attendance. My family teased me that I was like a 7 year old with eyes wide and exclamations of amazement. Go to http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/  to check out the aquarium site.

Our son, Cody, and our daughter the birthday girl, Hanna. 

Whale shark!

Hanna and Rob

Proud daddy!

Jelly Fish

Felt and Embroidery Hoop Project

I completed my first felt and embroidery hoop project. It is for a friend who is having a precious boy in May. I completed the back off by doing a running stitch around the extra linen fabric, pulled it tight and knotted it off. I then cut a piece of felt to fit the back and sewed it to the linen for a finished look. To dress the hoop up a little bit, I glued on ric-rac around the hoops edge.  I think it turned out well for a first try. :)

My inspiration to even try felt and embroidery together came from Lime Riot. This tutorial link was my first introduction, http://limeriot.blogspot.com/2011/06/felt-embroidery-tutorial.html.

The Trouble with Crafting, http://thetroublewithcrafting.blogspot.com/2011/05/finishing-hoop-with-felt.html,  showed me how to finish off the back with felt. Of course, both of these ladies have a much more professional look. But, hey, it's my first try! :) I'm happy with it. 

Linking to: http://www.countrymommacooks.com/2012/03/link-greet-party-10.html

http://www.craftionary.net/2012/03/friday-fun-party-and-features-11.html 

http://www.serendipityandspice.com/2012/03/manic-monday-linky-party-10.html#more 

http://diyshowoff.com/category/other/diy-project-parade/ 

Bean Dip Recipe

My entire family loves Mexican food. We have a favorite restaurant, http://papasmexicanrestaurant.com/, that serves the most wonderful Bean Dip as a free appetizer instead of the customary salsa. After some research and pondering, I came up with my own version of Bean Dip. It is not exact but my husband and son thinks it is great. 

Bean Dip

Ingredients:

1 (16oz) can pinto beans, drained 
1 cup picante or salsa sauce 
2 cups shredded Fiesta blend cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
1 T. chili powder 
1/4 t. cumin 

Put all ingredients in to a bowl, mix until beans are smashed and all is mixed well.

Pour in to a greased casserole dish and bake on 350* for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with warm tortilla chips.

Linking up to: http://polkadotsonparade.blogspot.com/search/label/wow%20me%20wednesday%22

http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2012/03/wow-me-wednesday-42.html 

http://www.countrymommacooks.com/2012/03/link-greet-party-10.html 

http://www.serendipityandspice.com/2012/03/manic-monday-linky-party-10.html#more 

WIP This Week

I have always loved needlework,whether it was cross-stitch, embroidery, etc. Viewing Pinterest has given me a renewed desire to embroider. I am an organized person, maybe a bit OCD about some things, and can't stand to have things a mess where I am trying to work. I am the same in the kitchen. It has to be completely clean before I can start dinner. I digress...This is my embroidery thread box. A jumbled mess. Yes, all the thread is sorted by number in to small plastic bags. The problem I have is that I like things by color. So when choosing threads for a project without a thread guide list, with the way this is stashed, it is nearly impossible to find all of one color to choose variances. So, this weekend I started winding the thread on to cards. I am writing the DMC number on each one so it can be replaced as needed but I am sorting by color. Ahhh... all will be good for easy embroidering after it is completed.

I am just getting started but isn't this much better?

I have a baby boy shower for a friend this Saturday. I have worked on a felt and embroidery name design and a monogram tag toy design.

Today I went through my children's fabric stash and pulled out a few to choose from for the shower gifts. I love the Japanese prints.

As you can see, I need to have busy hands this week. I am thinking it would be a good time to start watching the series Downton Abbey. I keep hearing about it and I can watch while I stitch. We have it on our Instant Queue with Netflix.  Anyone else a fan?

The Story of Keep Calm and Carry On

Did you ever wonder where the Keep Calm poster mania started? I had no idea of the rich history from the 1930's the poster entailed. This short YouTube video tells the story. And this bookstore has put me in to a stupor!  

DIY Memo Board

I found this cork and magnetic board on clearance at Target last week for just over $4.00. I have been wanting a memo/inspiration board for above my sewing machine. For $4.00 I could definitely see potential. 

Next stop was to Hobby Lobby. I walked up on this new fabric. I love birds, cages and this color green. A great find for my little project.

I ironed the fabric then measured and cut the correct amount to cover enough to full across the edge on the back and have enough fabric to tack against the edge. I used regular, old-fashioned tacks. They were so easy to use and worked like a charm.

On the corners I folded as if I was wrapping a gift, made sure to pull snug and even on both sides.

When I finished covering it, I added at the bottom to strips of ric-rac, It still looked a bit plain. I went to my scrap bin and pulled out strips of color-coordinating fabric. I made shabby chic rosettes for the first time. I have been wanting to try them. I love the outcome.

After making three different fabric rosettes, using this tutorial by Craftaholics Anonymous as an example, I hot glued them on to the board in a cluster on the bottom left side. The rosette tutorial can be found here: http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/fabric-rosettes-tutorial

The completed memo board. What do you think? 

I am thrilled with the results!

I am linking up to: http://www.iheartnaptime.net/sundae-scoop-link-party-20/, http://www.flamingotoes.com/2012/03/think-pink-sundays-no-52/

http://anoriginalbelle.blogspot.com/

http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/

http://www.serendipityandspice.com/2012/03/manic-monday-linky-party-9.html

http://scrapbookingez.blogspot.com/search/label/Anything%20Goes%20Linky%20Party

http://www.sewcando.com/2012/03/craftastic-monday-link-party.html

http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/2012/03/more-merrier-53.html

http://www.inspiredbyfelicity.blogspot.com/2012/03/get-inspired-monday-blog-party-features.html

http://ninthstreetnotions.com/2012/03/i-made-it-monday-3.html

http://www.craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com/2012/03/motivate-me-monday-113.html

http://polkadotsonparade.blogspot.com/search/label/wow%20me%20wednesday%22 

http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2012/03/wow-me-wednesday-42.html 

http://www.craftionary.net/2012/03/friday-fun-party-and-features-11.html 

Personal Family Eye-chart

I am looking for decorating ideas for Stan's and my shared space in the now office/sewing combo room. (See photos in prior post.) I am trying to find ideas that will not be too frou-frou for hubby but also something I will like. I went to http://www.eyechartmaker.com/ and made our personal eyechart. I love it. The MS is the state we were married in during the year of 1982. Clever, right? Anyway, this has a perfect spot by the door hanging over the light switch. I would show a photo with it hanging in place but it is a dreary day and I just couldn't get a good shot.

But, take a close look. Notice anything different in the two unframed eye-charts? Yes! I typed our anniversary date wrong twice! The first was 1987, the year our son was born. The second 1983! My husband noticed the first mistake as he had hammer in hand to hang the framed chart. We laugh. I go back to the website and print the second mistake. Once again, Stan notices the mistake! Where was my mind??? Evidently,I left it at Target yesterday afternoon! But...third times a charm. Then I chose to not work on anything else for the evening. I am in that special time of life and so I am calling this one of my "mental-pause" moments.

Linking up here: http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/, 

http://thirtyhandmadedays.com/

http://jennifercooks.com/2012/03/fusion-friday-jennifercooks-com-link-party/