Finished Object Friday

I haven't done a whole lot of crafting this week. I've focused more on my knitting, which I can't really show - Christmas is coming soon, you know! But, I did make these little bows up for the girls. The bigger ones are for their hair, and the little ones are for Faithie's shoes (they have little slots at the top for bows) Regina said she can't pull my bows off as easily as the ones she bought with the shoes.



Regina and I picked out the ribbon while we were out shopping last week. Perfect for fall! I had so much fun making them! The big ribbon is wired, which makes a pretty bow. The only problem I found with the wired, is that it doesn't keep it's shape. It goes into any shape, so if it gets bumped or anything, it will hold the new shape. I think probably, that a non-wired would be better.

For the clip base, I basically used the same technique described in this blog tutorial. (For the shoe clips, I didn't cover the bottom prong with ribbon.) For you moms out there, or those that like to make things, here is a great website with all sorts of hairbow tutorials! I have lots of clips to make up! I also want to make some similar to these. :) If you make any bows, I would love to see them! (Now or any other time!)

Come join in on Finished Object Friday!
For guidelines, click here.

Happy Birthday....

Angie!!!It's hard to believe you're SEVENTEEN!!! Where has the time gone? (I finally got that little sister I had been asking for, and just in time for my birthday!) :) I hope you have a very special day... you are a very special young lady!

We love you!
Love,
Mark and Chari

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Image Courtesy of Mary Engelbreit.

Sunday Blessing

Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use Thy folds prepare.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.

Early let us seek Thy favor, early let us do Thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Savior, with Thy love our bosoms fill.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Thou hast loved us, love us still.
Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus! Thou hast loved us, love us still.

Saviour, like a Shepherd Lead Us
by Dorothy A. Thrupp

The picture above was taken yesterday, it is our Texas sage. I was surprised Friday to see all the blooms on it! I guess it likes all the rain we are having. :)

I trust everyone is having a blessed Sunday!

Blessings!

Finished Object Friday

Well, this is a little late this Friday. I hope you will still join in! :) (To view the guidlines, click here.)

I've been promising all week to share my knitting project. - and now I have two projects that I can share! :) It's been a while since I've shared any knitting, but believe me, I've been knitting! :) Some of it is just secret until Christmas.

I made these wrist warmers for The Gaskell Guild, a group I started on Ravelry. We are reading Wives and Daughters at the moment.


One thing that I've learned through this project is that I make my purls too loose. I'm still trying to figure out how I can remedy that. I also discovered the powers of blocking finished projects. I blocked them by steaming: I ironed them with a wet pillowcase on top, this helps to set the stitches, makes it look a lot neater and actually helped them to fit better. Here is a picture: The one on the left is blocked.


I did this little project last night. These were fun to make! Wonder why I "picked" this pattern? :)


So what have you been working on recently (or not so recent!) We would love to see!

A Single Word

Well, both Stephanie and Melissa thought I would do this, so here goes! :)
With this survey, you can only use one word answers. Go ahead and copy and paste it to your blog and try it yourself. It can get interesting.
1. Where is your cell phone? Table
2. Your significant other? Mark
3. Your hair? Brown
4. Your mother? caring
5. Your father? wisdom
6. Your dream last night? forgot
7. Your favorite drink? coffee
8. Your dream/goal? Mommy
9. The room you’re in? Office
10. Your church?Growing
11. Your fear? panic
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? mommy
13. Where were you last night?Home
14. What you’re not? crocheter
15. Muffins? cinnamon
16. One of your wish list items? photo-editor
17. Where you grew up? Texas
18. The last thing you did? Type
19. What are you wearing? green
20. Your pets? gone
21. Your computer? problem
22. Your life? Blessed
23. Your mood? tired
24. Missing someone? yes
25. Your car? Toyota
26. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
27. Favorite store? hobbylobby!
28. Your summer? Fast
29. Like(love) someone? YES
30. Your favorite color? yellow
31. Last time you laughed? Today
32. Last time you cried? Forgot
33. Who will repost this? Angie

Birds and Berries

I made these cookies last night. Aren't they cute? :)

They are fun to make, and even more fun if you had a little person to make them with. I know my little friend, Gracey, would love to make them. Maybe next time she comes over. (Note to self: buy more strawberry jello!) :) Another plus, they aren't absolutely loaded with sugar. I know they are covered with it, but they really aren't super sweet. I found the recipe here - another plus was it asked for things I had on hand. So often I find a recipe, and I'm missing one key ingredient! I even had a few slivered almonds for the stems! :) (Although, they are cute enough without stems.)

On to the birds! This little guy has taken up frequent nightly residence in our porch.

I wasn't exactly sure what it was until I looked at the picture. He (or she) is always so fluffed up! I guess he's gotten used to us coming home at night, he rarely flies away! I believe it is a little Jenny Wren. This article calls them plain, but I think they are so cute with their little perky tails! :)

(Image source: www.bbc.co.uk)

I also have a family of cardinals that come daily to the birdfeeder outside my kitchen window. I have enjoyed watching the babies "grow up." :) They are so cute! Last week, the daddy would feed the little girl and she would make the cutest chirping noises. The little boy has already gotten most of his bright feathers. Sometimes the little girl peaks in the window at us. I call her "Anna Mae" and the boy "Caleb." (I recently rewatched Saving Sarah Cain. Good film, even though it differs from the book.)

I hope everyone has a great week! I will post my recent knitting project. I know I promised last week. (I'm sure you are all waiting with bated breath!) Maybe I'll get that done this afternoon. :)

Blessings!

Sunday Blessing

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Great is Thy Faithfulness
by Thomas O. Chisholm

This is one of my favorite hymns. Such a wonderful reminder. The picture is a close up of our crepe myrtle tree out front. (Here is a post with some that I cut.) Also check out my other blog, Time to Bloom, for a new post, Cotton Candy. :)

Blessings!

Finished Object Friday

"Well begun is half done."
~Aristotle~

"And truer words were never spoken."
~ME~

Ok, so I'm not the first to say that last quote, but it certainly applies in this case. :) I finally finished it!!! WHEW, again!

I wasn't in the mood to make this. I didn't even really want to make it. But, it needed to be done and I made myself finish! I had already cut out the long pieces (the solid black and red strips), so I only had to cut out the patterned pieces. I started sewing yesterday and got all but the backing done. After work, I decided that I wanted to get it DONE! (Besides, I wanted to post it here tonight... great motivation!) It certainly isn't my best sewing job, it ended up a little wonky, but it's DONE! :)

I think it makes the family room look so cozy to have them both finished. It is becoming more and more a welcoming room. Very relaxing, cozy and playful, although it is still a work in progress! (I still need shelves for those boxes of books!)

So how about you? Anything finished (or a step of it finished) that you would like to share?
Click here for guidelines on Finished Object Friday.
Click here for other FOF's.

Welcome to Finished Object Friday!

So what is FOF? A while back, I thought it would be fun to share our finished objects! So every other week we get together and share some of the projects that we have finished. To join in, just do a blog post of your craft - it doesn't even have to be finished, maybe you've just finished a big step of your project! It can be any and all crafts: knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, sewing, magnets... the list could go on... It can also be anything you have done at any time - not just from the past week.

How to:
1. Write a post on your own blog. (Include pictures, please!) :)
2. Include a link to my current FOF post in your post.
3. Link to Mr. Linky on my blog post using the permalink for your post.
4. Enjoy looking at everyone else's projects ...and don't forget to leave them a comment! :)

To find the permalink, right click the title of your blogpost after you have published it and click "Copy Link Location." This is the permalink for that particular post - versus linking to your entire blog each time.

A little "legal" stuff: Keep it clean. I reserve the right to remove any links at my discretion.
(Not that there should be a problem, I just want to have my bases covered.) :)

Smiles and Pigtails!

This is for all of you that need a smile today!

If that doesn't bring a smile to your face, I don't know what will!

Faithie spent the night with us a couple of weeks ago. We had a lot of fun with her! (She and Gracey are such sweeties!) I took a little time with her hair that morning - it was her first time in braids!

The top of her and Gracey's hair takes a lot longer to grow than the back. Thus they are just recently needing hairstyles to keep it out of their eyes. Faithie's hair is much longer than big sister's at that age, though. Here is Gracey at about the same age - a little older, I think. See how short the top is?

Summer 2006
Here is a picture of a "first" I did in Gracey's hair - pigtails!
She loved it!

October 2007

Recently, I've found several blogs dedicated to little girls hairstyles. These ladies have all kinds of fun with their daughters' hair! So for the mommies out there that want some fresh ideas, or those, like me, who play with someone else's daughter's hair (that's a mouthful!), here are a few of the blogs I've found! :)

Girly Do's by Jenn I love the way she does these "knots!"
Babes in Hairland
She Does Hair

Most of these sites include links to other hairstyle blogs. Have fun!

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I feel like I haven't posted in ages, although my regulars keep me posting (Sunday Blessing and Finished Object Friday). I plan on posting a new knitting project soon - one I can actually share! Christmas, etc... have kept me busy and in secrecy! :)

So I hope everyone is having a good week! I can't believe it is Thursday already! The days just seem to fly by and we are almost halfway through August! I know we are still finishing up summer, but is anyone ready for fall? (ME!) I don't want to rush things though, time goes by fast enough!

Have a good rest of this week! See you on Friday! (And go back to the top of this post for another smile!)

Keep Smiling!

Sunday Blessing

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

"More Love to Thee"
by Elizabeth Prentiss

What wonderful lyrics. I hope you have enjoyed this song as much as I enjoyed singing it this morning in church. Dad (our songleader) told us that Elizabeth Prentiss also wrote "Stepping Heavenward." I haven't read it, but maybe I should. Anyone else read it?

Blessings!

Finished Object Friday

My sister, Angie, is almost never without her camera. (She takes some pretty cool pictures too!) She also carries around some cool sunglasses. :) Unfortunately for them, these two items were wandering around unprotected in her purse... until I came to their aid! :)

I found some cool fabric while shopping earlier this week, and tried my hand at making covers for her sunglasses and her camera.


Ok, so they aren't my best attempt at sewing, but hopefully they will remain functional for a while. :)


As with most of my sewing, I worked it out as I went along. That's not really the recommended method, but I guess it works for me - sometimes better than others. There are still a few things that bug me and the snaps were a great source of frustration, but all in all they are pretty cute. And Angie was pleasantly surprised, which is what is most important! Oh, and the items fit perfectly! (and I was trying to make them roomy, good thing or they wouldn't have fit!) :)

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So what bit of "craftiness" have you been up to recently? ... or even not so recently! :) Share the links below!

To see the other FOF posts click here.

Beautiful Books

It is rather obvious from the number of posts featuring books that I like books! No surprise there, right? Of course I love to look at bookstores! (Although I am rather spoiled by the prices at one of the local sales.) While shopping with my good friend Amanda today, I was thrilled to find these two books:

Now I have the complete collection! What a blessing that they had the two I was missing! :) I love Mary Englebreit, and why not, with all her cherry things!

I also found this beautiful book at another store:

Would you believe I paid $2.50 for it? :) As I have said before, I love old songs. This book has many of America's best loved folk songs along with beautiful art work to illustrate them. It's about 75 pages long. Let's have a peak inside:

Well, that's it for my recent beautiful book buys! :) I hope everyone else's week is off to a good start!

Blessings!

Sunday Blessing

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?


Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

How Firm a Foundation
by John Rippon

Have a blessed week!


~ The picture is of my lantana in the front flower bed. :)

Finished Object Friday

I haven't done a whole lot of crafting this week, so I decided to share an older project with you today. This mirror:

A close-up:

This mirror was given to us a while back. I wasn't a big fan of the gold look, so I antiqued it. I've been very happy with the result - much more cheery. It is hanging in my spare bedroom, which is a sort of shabby chic. I have more things I want to accomplish in that room, along with painting the walls! :) I did a blog post on it a year ago. Since it was hidden way down in the archives, I decided to share it again. To see the original post with "before" pictures, click here.

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So what have you been working on this week? (or any other time) Share with us here! :) Remember, it doesn't have to be something finished, it can be a phase of a project that you have completed. We would love to see! To see last week's FOF, click here.