It's Been a Good Weekend

Thank you for all your kind comments on the bake sale items. I guess they all sold. I just dropped them off and left  yesterday morning. I hope those who bought  enjoyed them.

Right after work on Friday, I ran to Joanne's Fabric store because I needed some magnetic snaps to finish my latest denim handbag.  It is rare that I go into Joannes and leave with just one item!

Friday was no exception. I came home with all of this fabric--just a yard of each--  and two little bundles of turquoise and black/white fabric. Each bundle has 8 pieces of 9-inch x 21-inch  coordinating fabrics. It's a good way to get a nice assortment of different patterns in the same color family.

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Today I went back to Joanne's because a new sale started. They had purse handles for $4 each--original priced at $6.99 to $13.99 each.  I could not resist! I also picked up more magnetic snaps because I already used up the ones I bought on Friday.

Early Saturday morning I finished my latest bluejean purse with the black accent vinyl.  I used it all weekend. 

Ever since I began making these denim bags, I have been wearing jeans on the weekends.  You may remember that I said I almost never wear jeans...well, now that I have quite an assortment of bluejean bags, I had to buy some jeans to go with them!

 Last week I ordered a few Christmas decorating books from the Michigan Electronic Library. I picked up the first one today.  I think I am going to spend a little time browsing through it tonight to see if anything inspires me.

I have been doing sunflower trees for the past 6+ years (at work). Maybe I will do a bluejean/burlap/sunflower tree this year at home.... anybody have their tree up yet?

I would like to share and answer a recent comment. Since it's anonymous, I can't send an email answer.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Thanksgiving Decorating--still at it":

anonymous said:
You're very real and personable. Your home reflects your enthusiasm, unique skills and love of home and family. I return as often as I can to catch up and oftentimes get a bit of inspiration for my own home. Too often all the other blogs just look the same, hard to tell the difference. You're one of my favorites and I enjoy my visits and truly appreciate you sharing.
Willow

Thank you, Willow.   I am so glad you find some sort of inspiration reading my ramblings. I would love to hear about your own home projects inspired from something I posted! 

That goes for all of you out there--It would be a thrill to hear about something you made because I wrote about it.

I Felt Very Overwhelmed at Work Today

I had so many different important things that had to get done--early morning mandatory insurance meeting, weekly labor report to the Big, Big Kahuna at the home office (should have been sent yesterday, but I ran out of time), meeting with bride/groom and parents for a big January wedding after they have already informed me they can't afford the bar costs--required some pretty creative suggestions on my part to get to something they could afford, 100 people for lunch on the F&B Director's day off, a convention for 2011 that I turned down last week because they were too large, but our local CVB director asked me to send a bid anyway......just in case they were smaller.........that is like saying..."hey, can you waste an hour or more of your time to send room rates, meal quotes, and vendor set ups to a group that won't fit in your hotel?" Sure, no problem!




I was very happy for this day to end! Luckily, it all turned out pretty good...



I decided I deserved a little reward when I got home. . . so I poured a glass of Chardonnay and did a bit of shopping --- 25% off and free shipping....could not resist!





I bought three of the same belt in colors to match things I already own...a couple of bead ball necklaces to match the bracelets I bought last month...a green/black necklace because I wear a lot of green/black and really needed it!



See that big brown bangle bracelet on the bottom?  It is suede with orange/blue embroidery........so cool!



I am trying not to buy any  more clothes because I have no closet space for them.



I also felt like creating something ...... so I have started another blue jean purse with black vinyl accents... Here are the four blocks I made all sewn into one 8-inch block....

Not sure where I will go from here....but when I get it done, I will show you a pic.

Halloween Vignette Additions and a Halloween Shaggy Bag

How could I forget the "Boo" banner  & the round letters I made a few weeks ago? I added them to my Raven tablescape. You may notice that I moved the entire tablescape from the green wall in the dining room to the beige wall in the family room. I had to do that because the contractor had to come to fix the dining room chandelier after graceful husband hit his head on it and caused it to separate from the ceiling. We won't go into further details on that!

Last weekend I spent about six hours making myself a Halloween denim shaggy bag.  One side has a pumpkin:

 and one side has a witch.

It is a fun handbag for a fun holiday. I can't wait to use it!

Once Every Two Years I See This Tree Bloom

My cherry (crab apple?) tree is in full bloom. It's a sight to behold, but two years apart is a long wait. It only blooms for about one week.
That's my latest handbag strutting it's stuff in the crook of the tree. Are those colors perfect or what! LOL. I really did not plan the bag to match the tree.

I still have not tried to get the glue off the dining room wall. That task does not seem nearly as appealing to me as making a new handbag, but I will probably have to forget the handbags and start washing the walls this weekend. . . maybe...I also need to get outside and do some garden work...and there are a few cleaning chores that must get done.

I hope you all have plans that are more fun than mine this weekend! I have way too much work and far too little play in mine.

All Right Bambi - It's War!

I am bringing out the big guns - well, O.K. it's just a big spray bottle of diluted Hinder, a deer repellent. But it usually works as long as I keep spraying every time it rains.

Just look at this yew bush!


I have three of them just like this one--hardly any needles left. The smaller green one next to it was covered with snow all winter, so they did not get that one.

Last year I had no deer problem, but now that they have found my diner again, I am in big trouble. They will eat every hosta, lily and tulip as it comes up. I planted a bunch of new tulips and lilies last fall and will be heartbroken if they consume them before I even get to see them bloom.

We've been having nice spring weather (high 50's). I spent an moment or two after work yesterday considering whether I felt like raking a flower bed or two... Naahhhhh, maybe later this week.

I think I have enough handbags/totebags for a while, don't' you?

I made or bought all of these since December! There are three others that did not make it into the picture.

I still felt the need to sew a bit, so last night I worked on a few hot pads for my mother-in-law.

I have a few loose ends to finish up on some projects, then I will be ready to start gardening!

Now What Will I do with This Bold Flower?

I have had my eye on this vivid flower pin for some time. I think it's cute as a bug's ear, as they say down south. It's 3.5 x 4 inches across. It's made to pin to a jacket or sweater and wear like a brooch. But that is not what I plan to do with it.

My thought is to affix it to a big hair barrette and wear it with some of my bright spring jackets when I pull my hair into a short, stubby ponytail. I think it will go with that bright star handbag I made a few weeks ago. This one...
Whoa......they will see me coming for a mile in all directions!

If I like it, I will make a bunch more of them. It looks like it's pretty easy to make. My plan is to use denim and matching fabrics for the bags I've made.

And if I don't like it.....well, it was on clearance for only $4.99, so I won't be out much.

What Fun I am Having with These Bags

Thank you all for the kind comments on my last post! I am finding it very rewarding to make bags to match individual outfits. I have not actually used any yet, but they are fun to design and sew. They are not the kind of bags I would take to work, but I think I will have a ball using them for my leisure activities this spring/summer.

I was surprised to see a comment from my Mom asking for a bag. Yes, Mother, I would be happy to make you a handbag. Just let me know which color tulip you would like. I can be your personal handbag designer---Look out Louis Vuitton--Zoey bags may soon be all the rage!

Since I am answering questions in this post, I shall answer one more:

Yes, Dianne, that umbrella seems to be full size. If anyone makes one of these, please let me know. I would love to see what yours looks like! Of course, if I do make one, I will let you know how it turned out.

I ordered a safari print jacket this week. It has not arrived yet, but I printed its picture and began searching my stash to see what I could find to make a coordinating handbag.

I found all of this stuff that I think will work--animal print fabric, leather, black bead trim
and even a black boa! I just might run that around the top of the bag. I even have handles that are perfect - black and bronze beads.

So far I have only been looking for items to use -- I have not even begun to make the bag. I'm still in the mental designing mode. I probably should wait until the jacket arrives before going further. Sometimes the colors are quite different when I get the jacket than they looked on my monitor.

So far this week I have made two bags and have all the materials to make #3 and I have not had to go out and buy a single thing! I love using up my stashed items--especially all those handles I bought last fall when Joanne's had a 50% off sale. I have almost used them all up. I hope they have another sale soon!