Mornin', Glory!

Morning Glories blooming from seed I planted in July

I've been staying indoors as our Indian Summer winds down. Temperatures were in the low 100's for days, but we got a reprieve this weekend. As usual, we can expect one last heat wave as October arrives but I'm looking forward to cooler weather and putting a blanket on the bed by the middle of the month.

A fire hydrant burst in our neighborhood! I was upstairs in my scrap room working on a layout when I happened to see the hubbub outside. Water was rushing over the curbs and sidewalks until the fire department and utility company arrived.

Here is the scrapbook page I was working on. 

I used puzzle pieces, a train punch, and dripped paint on this layout. 

I also used Making Memories Vintage Findings (school) which included the Report Card envelope and 1960's era book page.

 

Handyman brought in the Fall decor boxes, which are now sitting in the living room. I can't wait to dig through them! 

I try not to rush through the seasons, and have been pretty good at waiting until September is over before bringing out the pumpkins. I'll just enjoy these Morning Glories a while longer~

sharing this post with:
You're Going To Love It

Mosaic Monday
The Chicken Chick
Fresh Cut Fridays

In A Jiffy

I made this quick and easy potholder hand towel combo as a little gift for a dear friend of mine. I got the idea from a crafty website. I like that you can make the combo seasonal, match someone's decor or choose a fun theme like cupcakes or Hello Kitty!

   

Select a hand towel and coordinating pot holder for this project. Make sure the pot holder has a side loop - 

not a corner loop. 

Find the center of the hand towel and sew a gathering stitch (or you can hand sew a loose running stitch) on either side of this imaginary line. In the photo above, I photographed the back side of the towel so you could see the gathering stitches more easily.

Fold the pot holder in half with the loop facing up. When selecting a pot holder remember that it will be folded in half in the finished product, and choose a pattern that won't be upside down in this position.

Place the center of the pot holder against the center of the hand towel, right sides together. Gather the hand towel so that it is the same width as the pot holder. The sides of the hand towel should align with the sides of the pot holder. Open the pot holder, pin it to the hand towel with sides aligned, and sew down it's center to attach it to the towel. Here is a video tutorial I found on YouTube:

Once you have sewn the two pieces together, you can go ahead and remove the gathering stitches. 

The last step is to sew a button onto 

the upper front of the pot holder.

Once you adhere a button, your pot holder towel is ready for gift giving - or display it in your own kitchen!

sharing this post with: 

What To Do Weekends

Freedom Fridays

WeekEnd ReTreat

Strut Your Stuff

Sunday's Best My 1929 Charmer

Halloween Greetings

Well, it's hot here- it was 106 degrees yesterday. As a matter of fact, it's hotter now than is has been all summer! Great time to stay inside and work on holiday projects, right? 

Heather at My Artistic Adventures created a darling sheet of vintage Halloween tickets to use on cards and other projects.  She is hosting Challenge #9 - starting today - and has made a digital collage sheet which is available on her etsy page, along with her other digi collage sheets. You've got to take a peek! Everything is so cute. Being on the Design Team, I get first crack at Heather's creations. I printed out this collage sheet and went to work...ok, it isn't really work when you are having so much fun!

Here is my Halloween card, but with so many tickets on the sheet I'll be making treat bags, post cards and include a few on upcoming scrapbook pages.

 Me and My Big Ideas 

and Martha Stewart Halloween pads

Spellbinders Nestabilities 

Tim Holtz clock die

orange tulle

silk maple leaf

This card folds flat for mailing but stands

 up like a pup tent. Here is the left side view.

 I love overlapping elements and combining different shades of orange.

I used orange pearls as stoppers for the front card edge to rest against when standing displayed. You can see that I decorated the inside with punched spider webs. 

Need more Halloween inspiration? Want to see what the other Design Team members made with their collage sheet? Stop by My Artistic Adventures to get your creative juices flowing - we'd love to have you play along and enter the Challenge!

sharing this post with

cottage style party
613 Avenue Create

Yes, Honey!

“Stands the Church clock at ten to three?

And is there honey still for tea?” 

 Rupert Brooke

Honey is healthy and delicious- a great addition to your diet (but not for children under 12 months old). I've read about the wonderful benefits of eating honey and was surprised to learn it can help facilitate a good night's sleep, among other things. I look for raw honey when shopping.  

I found this brand at TJMaxx. It's my favorite!

Raw honey is the unpasteurized version 

of more commonly used honey but with 

added filtration, which mainly helps 

extend shelf life. 

A lot of honey found in the supermarket is not raw honey but "commercial" regular honey, some of which has been pasteurized (heated at 70 degrees Celsius or more, followed by rapid cooling) for easy filtering and bottling so that it looks cleaner and smoother, more appealing on the shelf.

“Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then 

he had to stop and think. Because although 

eating Honey was a very good thing to do, 

there was a moment just before you began to 

eat it which was better than when you were, 

but he didn't know what it was called.” 

 A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Did you know...

Some seasonal allergy sufferers have found relief from their allergies in raw honey. Raw honey exposes consumers to traces of the pollen that would otherwise cause allergy flareups with exposure, desensitizing them to these effects. The North Dallas Honey Company says a daily tablespoon of honey can actually act like an allergy shot

Raw honey naturally contains B vitamins (stress relievers) and a teaspoon or two helps with indigestion! I really like the taste of the raw honey compared to the kind in the little bear squeeze bottle.

"We ought to do good to others as simply

a horse runs or a bee makes honey,

or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne."

Marcus Aurelius

Want to cook with honey? <Click here for

 some recipes.

Check out this pink silicone honey dipper from Amazon

sharing this post with:

Pink Saturday

Whoever invented knock-knock jokes 
should get a no bell prize 

Friends

Little surprises make life fun! I was surprised 
and happy to find out that my newest scrapbook 
page was listed as Most Wanted this week at CSI

At CSI- ColorsStoriesInspiration- there is a different challenge each week in which you can participate. I just finished making a page for Case File 137. For each Case File you must use all five colors, two items from the Evidence list and one thing from Testimony. Isn't this a cheery color scheme?

Here is my layout~

I used:

lace, ribbon roses, pom pom ribbon, pink burlap

7 Gypsies 97% stickers

washi tape

machine stitching

Prima Pearls

Petaloo flowers and glitter heart

modeling past and spray ink

two selfies of College Girl and her childhood friend

There is torn washi tape along the top and bottom of the page. I zigzag stitched around the photos

For the envelope listed in Evidence I used a clear ziploc bag stitched down between the photos. 

Here is a closer shot of the modeling paste misted with spray ink

College Girl can journal about her friendship, 

and I will tuck the note into the little bag with the glitter heart inside.

I had to include this funny sticker because it suits these two.
 Just kidding, of course!

What have you been up to this week? If you get a chance, go take a look at CSI and play along.

sharing this post with~

Freedom Fridays
What To Do Weekends
Pink Saturday

Kelos- it's hot!

Pink and red Celosia shade the little fairy in the heat of our backyard today - it's 98 degrees as we finish off the summer and turn toward autumn. The Greek word kelos, meaning burned, is the root of this flower's name since it looks like flames.

Everything is beginning to fade in our backyard. 

The Hydrangea are smaller and browning.

The ferns sway in the warm breeze and the soil looks dry despite the sprinklers being on earlier in the day.

The dwarf Meyer Lemon tree is budding and putting forth tiny fruit - it isn't bothered by the heat.

By all these lovely tokens,

September days are here,

With summer's best of weather,

And Autumns best of cheer.

H. Jackson

Of course the succulents, like our Bear Paws, are quite content with the constant sunshine. 

As for me, I wouldn't mind a little less sunshine 
and a little more Fall.  

sharing this post with:
What To Do Weekends

Pink Saturday
Mosaic Monday
The Chicken Chick
Make It Pretty
You're Going To Love It