Banners

These are some of my favorite Banners from this year. It is a great way to dress you my blog and keep it fresh. It seems like summer has ended early in the OK. as it is cool, overcast and raining.

Does this mean that summer is over, I sure hope that it isn't!

Good Memories

Today would of been our mother's 86 birthday. We had such good parents that gave us a really interesting childhood. Our Mom passed away this September 30, 2000... 10 years ago and yet most times it feels like yesterday.

You are missed by all of us everyday








These are my hands with her original wedding band that I wear all time time.
When I look at my hands, I see my Mom and I feel so happy that we had her for as long as we did. Your are missed by your 7 kids, and your 9 grandchildren.

My Mom's Hands

Junk Queen.....

These are some of the new pieces that I have been working on. I really like using buttons and different colored metals in the same necklace..it gives it a slightly hippy-ish feel which makes it much more interesting to make as well as wear.




This piece is from the industrial chic line at Michaels


I bought this flatten out spoon
at the Farm Chicks Show in Spokane this year.
Cindy gave me this button which I wired up to add on.
I love this look of jewelry. The name says it all.

Day 2

Yesterday Cindy and I spent the day at the Farmers Market as well as checking out the thrift stores. Cindy found some lovely new things to take home to Nelson as well. Her Rav was filled to the brim with fresh fruit and treasures. It is such a great time of the year to live in this beautiful Okanagan Valley.


Breakfast at the Framers Market.

Cindy's visit..

We have been counting down the days until Cindy arrived here today. We treated each other for lunch at "Local Lounge and Grill" in Summerland. We drove to all the thrift stores and found some treasures that we could not live with out. Home for a glass of wine then dinner of BBQ steaks and grilled potatoes and veggies. Cindy brought 2 desserts, a butter tart square as well as my birthday cake. It was a heavenly tasting pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese icing....all without a calorie!






New pearls along with a gift basket filled with thoughtful and charming gifts...and it isn't even my birthday until next Monday. What a sweet friend she is.

Caroline's New Art....

Happy birthday to my niece Kari who Caroline' beautiful daughter. You are such a wonderful young woman.

Look at this beautiful new art Caroline is painting. A friend of theirs gave her these slices of semi precious rocks and she has been painting her heart out..amazing what she sees in the rocks and how she paints the right object that reflects the beauty of the rock. Well done, Caroline!
Head over to her website and check out her art. http://logcabinstudio.blogspot.com

Dog Rescue Update.... Honey

This morning there was a knock on the door and there was Jamie with Honey. She had brought this lovely bouquet of flowers and the sweetest card. Honey checked out the house again, hopped right on the couch beside Jamie and settled in. I was so pleased to see them again. Jamie is expecting twin girls in December. That will be a busy household.

Talking on Skype

We talk to Laurie, Shane and Alexander a couple of times a week in Sri Lanka. Today I got this idea to take a photo of them while they were talking and I am pleased to see how well it turned out it is and how clear it is.
A new technique of getting more photos! He even waved goodbye to his grandpa before we signed off.



Hi Grandpa, how are you?








Newest photo this week..they are wonderful about keeping him in our everyday lives.

Sable

Sable was our first dog that we got as a married couple. We had the pick of the litter from a breeder in Columbia Falls Montana. We went there several times to bond with her before we brought her home at 10 weeks. She was a typical sheltie, she liked to bark and herd everything in sight. She kept our beach in Nelson totally empty from any geese. You just had to mention the word "goose" in a conversation and she was down at the fence by the beach patrolling to make sure nothing landed there. She was a great companion.
{Aug.8-1990 - April 26-2001}

The Nursery....

Julie and Jeremy have almost finished putting the nursery together. They have a few more additions like paintings to put up but it sure is a lovely room for their new baby. I am heading down to see them in a couple of weeks. I think that as the baby's "Oma" I will sit in that chair and imagine myself holding my grandchild. It will be a heartfelt moment.

Dog Rescue

Saw this sweet dog,"honey" running in the front of our home about 3:00 yesterday afternoon. I called out to her but she was too afraid to be caught. At 3:00 this morning she came back and I heard her whimpering downstairs, I got her in, fed her some tuna, put a mat down and she just woke up. She had a phone number on a coke collar with her name "Honey" and when we called her owner was thrilled. Some one had broken into their car and she ran away.. She hasn't made a sound and is sleeping on the couch beside Jim right now waiting for her human Mom to come get her.

I just love when dog story turns out so well.

Update: Jamie, her human mother came and picked her up. Honey nearly turned herself inside out trying to jump all over her owner. She was definately smiling! What a sweet dog and what a happy girl to get her dog back. Happy to report that Honey is all safe, sound and settling back into her routine.

Taken with my cell phone so the quality isn't the greatest but didn't want the moment to slip away.

Potted Gifts

Wouldn't one of these be lovely to receive or to give as a gift? A clay pot with some imagination. It is a good thing.

Beach Weather

Weather can change so quickly up here in Kelowna. One week ago it was so blazing hot then yesterday when I emerged from my craft room, I noticed that it had poured rain so hard that the sand traps on the golf course where filled with water. I must say it is a welcome change if you live here but if you were camping in a tent..it was as wet day. To assure myself that we are still in for some beach weather, here is one of the photos I took to show you what is on my table beside my chair at the beach.
Hopefully, the really fine summer weather will still be with us in September.

Happy September 1st.

I found this on Martha Stewart's website.www.marthastewart.com.
I am planning on making a few now that we have a new grand baby arriving, I will have lots of reasons to show off the babies.













It takes just minutes -- and a little creative thinking -- to inject new, gift-worthy energy into this old tradition. An easy-to-stash brag book speaks louder than boasts. A photo flip book puts videotaped memories magically in motion. A tin full of favorite handwritten recipes perpetuates family traditions. And party favors crafted from snapshots along with laugh-out-loud recollections set the mood for what's sure to be a memorable celebration.

Brag Book
Use double-sided plastic binder sheets made to hold sports cards. For a larger book, you can instead use 3 sheets made to hold 4-by-6-inch photos, trimming just the punched edges.

To create a 12-photo book, trim 3 sets of side-by-side pockets from a double-sided sports-card sheet; each resulting sheet will hold 4 photos, 2 on each side. To make the cover, cut a rectangle from oilcloth, heavy fabric, or leather, making it 1/8 inch larger on all sides than photo sleeves. (If using oilcloth or fabric, cut 2 rectangles and glue wrong sides together. Let dry.) Center and stack sleeves inside cover. Sew along the middle seam that divides the 2 sides of the photo pockets, attaching sleeves to cover. Attach an eyelet to front cover; slip a loop of elastic cord, about the same length as the book's perimeter, through eyelet, knotting the loop on the inside of the cover to make a band closure. Slip snapshots in sleeves.

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Online class....

I am thinking about taking this online class..check it out at
http://creativelab.crescendoh.com/
I think it will be a fabulous 6 weeks of creativity.






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My Reading List...

Just finished reading "Water for Elephants" and passed it on to Christa.

Caroline lent me the book and it was so good that I could not put it down. I get alot of my books from the library here in West Kelowna or buy them at the second hand used book store.

What ever you are reading, I hope you find a few quiet hours, a good hot cup of tea or glass of wine and indulge in some time for yourself.

My reading List this month..

All Things Shiny and Bright..

I am so drawn to soft muted colors as well as all things shiny and bright.

It surely brings out the magpie in me.

New sewing machine

Janome 419S. My new sewing machine..it will do all I need and more, plus I get a lifetime of free lessons...I was practicing last night and made Jim this quilted cover for his new net book computer.










The 419S gives you 18 stitches, including a one-step buttonhole. With a sturdy, all-aluminum body, and legendary Janome stitch quality, the 419S is perfect for quilting, home dec, or garment construction.
It comes with a hard cover, a built-in needle threader, a vertical oscillating hook, and auto declutch bobbin winder.

The 419S will perform consistently on a wide range of fabrics. The optional accessory feet snap on. And the bobbin winder stops automatically when done.







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Ideas...

Where do you get your ideas from? A book, a magazine, a blog, a podcast, a TV show, the great outdoors, your garden, an inspired friend or perhaps something you found in a thrift shop? Here are a few of the things that have inspired me lately.




A gift to inspire flower arranging all beautifully packaged up in a vase.





A bouquet of flowers using buttons to keep the stems in place...
No surprise here, they all come from Martha Stewart's website...www.marthastewart.com

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Nelson 20

The long awaited new Nelson 20 beer will be available in the BC liquor stores by September 1. It tastes really great and by you supporting our local organic Nelson Brewery Company, I can continue to have crafting money... Ha ha!! Seriously!








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