Thanks, Bre....

My friend Andrea Weibe and her daughter Bre came over today for coffee. We did a little crafting and Bre (who is young), taught me how to use Photoshop to make a new banner.

It was fun, and a very creative process...Thank you so much Bre.

You can check out their blogs at and see how creative they are.

www.andreawiebe.com/

www.brewiebe.com/

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law Jill, who celebrates her birthday today!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving. ~Max Beerbohm

Today's Finds...

The book and it looks great!!!

Another one about sweaters.

The wool sweaters, ready at be washed, shrunk and then felted!!! Yipee.

They are already in the washer and soon shrunk to 1/2 there original size. Still looking for sweaters in bright pink, Orange and purple.

No wonder Cindy said I must of been a Raven in my former life because if it isn`t bright and colourful, it`s not for me!

Cupcakes to be pictured here SOON!!!

Happy Birthday Jeremy!!!

Jeremy Allan Brown

Born @ Lions Gate Hospital in Vancouver, BC on Sept 28, 1973 @ 7lbs 14 oz

Just look at you now!!!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful son, Have a fantastic day and I hope you have a great year ahead for you and Julie...

Much love,

0x0x0

Mom

More felted cupcakes from the book "Warm Fuzzies" by Betz White,. How cool are these?

I am buying the book and getting more woolsweaters to felt...

Watch for up my work in the near future!!!

Christa's New "Cruise"

This is Christa's new 2008 Buick Enclave. complete with On Star, a nav screen, DVD player and enough frills to have to read the owners manual,

Now Christa, you can call me fron anywhere....

Enjoy your new ride!!!

Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping.

~Bo Derek

Cindy's Stuff...

Raspberries from Cindy's garden, and I know that there will be a jar of raspberry jam with my name on it!!!!!

She found 2 more Vintage Tablecloths for me in Nelson to add to my collection.

This one is very unusual as it is a small child's one....Thanks so much Cindy!!!
You are a treasure that finds great treasures!!!!.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We do not remember days; we remember moments.

~Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand

Fruit Crumb Bars..

Take your pick between cranberry or apple for your fruit fix with these easy oat-topped bars.

Ingredients
Makes about 5 dozen
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Apple Filling

Ingredients
Makes 5 cups
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
10 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Juice of half a lemon
Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons brown sugar in a large skillet over high heat. When butter is melted and bubbling, add half the apples. Sprinkle apples with 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft and slightly golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons sugar in skillet. Add remaining apples and cinnamon. Cook according to step 1. Transfer cooked apples to same large bowl. Stir in lemon juice. Cool completely before using for cookies.

Cranberry Filling

Ingredients
Makes 3 3/4 cups
6 cups cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup golden raisins
Directions
Place cranberries, sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, and cook until cranberries burst and the liquid they have released has become slightly thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in golden raisins. Transfer to a large bowl. Cool completely before using for cookies.

Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in oats and brown sugar. Using your fingers, work butter into mixture until combined; mixture should be crumbly but hold together.
Line an 11-by-17-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Press 5 cups oat mixture into bottom of pan. Spread desired filling over oat mixture. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over filling. Bake until golden, about 40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. Cut into 1 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch pieces; makes about 60. Serve.

From Martha Stewart's Newletter

Wreaths.....

Garden Wreath
An evergreen wreath lasts many weeks in cooler weather. Wire it with fall decorations for Thanksgiving, then switch colors to swing into December.

Natural Door Decor
Metal sap buckets and tin cones are great for displaying a bunch of dried grasses or wildflowers. Hang yours on a door, in an entry hall, or on the porch.

Forkful
A vintage garden fork gets a second life as a door decoration when outfitted with sturdy ears of dried corn. The corn can be wired onto each tine for easy removal later.

Fragrant Foliage
This wreath combines dried sweet Annie, dried lavender, purple statice, globe amaranth, and large green kale leaves for a decoration that smells as good as it looks. Experiment with different plants to find the looks and aromas you love most.

Twine a Vine
Whether you buy a vine wreath or make your own, the addition of decorations can really make it special. A wild array of berry branches bursts forth in autumn splendor, creating a wreath that is both easy to make and memorable.

Wine Whimsy
A plain Styrofoam wreath form gets a makeover from wine corks and dried flowers attached with hot glue. A frothy bow of champagne-colored sheer ribbon gets wired to the top.

As found in Country Living Magazine...

$2.00 Magnet Memo Board

This was the inspiration to make my own, a cookie sheet from the dollar store and turned into a memo board complete with magnets...

Here is mine, the cookie sheet cost $2.00, covered with vintage wall paper, altered mini clips and little clip-boards that I covered with the same wall paper.

These are the altered mini clips, with saying and portions of maps adhered to them...near a phone, this little magnet board is just the thing, don't you think?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The life so short, the craft so long to learn.

Hippocrates

No Calorie Cupcakes...

Yesterday, I made these Cupcakes from old sweaters, chenille, felt and other vintage fabrics. Added ric rac, ribbons, buttons, and some pearl bling just for the fun of it.They start their life off as a tube, cut in half, and the ribbing of a felted sweater as the outside, from there you can add anything you like.

I was thinking of Kate Sirazi, from Cakeadoodledo in the UK as I was making these without any calories...

Cindy gave me the idea for this from a photo in a magazine, so I knew that I had the supplies in my craft room to start. After I made one, I would take a photo of it and send it off to Cindy for her approval, she was always enthusiastic about them.

They are on the cake stand that Cindy

gave me for my birthday.

I am off to the Thrift Store to find some more little sweaters in pink and green.

These could be actually used as pin-cushions as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's no wonder that you are as cute as a cupcake"

unknown

Autumn....Sept 21, 2008

Doesn't this look like AUTUMN?

Today it is raining here in most of BC. It seems quite refreshing and needed after this long warm spell we were having.

A day to craft and nest!!

All these items can be found at http://www.napastyle.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.

~P.D. James

Photos from Christa and Cindy....

This photo is of Christa's canning over the weekend.... Peaches and Antipasto!!! I hope that some of these will be coming our way next time she visits...

And here is the Red Box of magazines from Cindy that I was supposed to get next week. Jim was supposed to go and help our friend Harvey re-roof his Nelson guest house, but one of the guys can't come, so the visit to Nelson and picking up my magazines are now put on hold!!!! I just may have to hop in the car and go for a drive on my day off!!!

Mini Note Books.....

Have had a cold for the past couple of days so I decided to take a bit of a break and start crafting again...Love making mini note books, great place to keep a quote or write down some thoughts, plus, they look good.

Summer 's bounty....

From the Field

To the Farmer's Market

And Home ready for a great supper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.

~Lewis Grizzard

Last Birthday photos...

Jimmy and I

Cone Flower ceramic bowl that was made by Cindy for me. It is a great shape and will look great filled with Peaches.

Can you just taste how good these scones, jam and devonshire cream really were...well, let me tell you, they were some GOOD!!!

Tyler...

This is my nephew, Tyler, playing hockey in Summerland on the Kootenay Ice, Midget AAA team, and even though I didn't get to see him play today, it was great seeing him. Way to go Tyler, his team won 5/4.

Cindy is heading back to Nelson tomorrow, with all kinds of treasures...she will be missed, but looking forward to having her down in AZ for a winter holiday. Thanks Cindy for all the treats and gifts and lunches!!!!

Found Treasures.......

These are some of the treasures that we found in Peachland and in Kelowna. Then today we drove up to Enderby and found some more lovely things...keep posted for those.

Melamine cups and saucers at a rock bottom price, and this 1967 Centennial bon bon dish, and some depression glass to hold more buttons.

Flowers form the Kelowna Farmer's Market, along with lots of fresh fruit and veggies.

Cindy bought us lunch here at the Cliff Cafe in Enderby, with her wind blown top down convertible HAIR!!!!

My Birthday Morning...

Thank you Jim for the lovely Roses and the very special gifts.

Having coffee and presents in my PJ's.

Cindy got here yesterday, and she brought all kinds of wonderful homemade jams, a fabulous Birthday Cake, cookies, salsa, antipasto, and this morning she made scones and made devonshire cream...Yummy!!!

Cindy's homemade goodies.

The morning breakfast, on the beautiful cake plate she gave me as well.

So later on this morning, we are off to the Farmer's Market and up to Armstrong and Enderby to find some wonderful treasures....keep posted.

Thank you so much Jim, for making sure that my day is free of any responsibilities!!!!